Facebook CEO advocates his advertising-based business model

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly advocated his company`s advertising-based business model, responding to criticism that Facebook is selling its users` personal information to advertisers.

Time magazine placed Zuckerberg as cover model of its latest print edition, and issued a cover story titled "Facebook`s Plan to Wire the World," which included an interview with the CEO.

In the interview, Zuckerberg said, "Our mission is to connect every person in the world. You don’t do that by having a service people pay for.” He was responding to for-pay social networking service firm Ello`s criticism on Facebook by saying, "You`re the product that`s being bought and sold."

"Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote something similar in September in a statement spelling out Apple’s privacy policy...A frustration I have is that a lot of people increasingly seem to equate an advertising business model with somehow being out of alignment with your customer," the Facebook CEO noted. "I think it’s the most ridiculous concept. What, you think because you’re paying Apple that you’re somehow in alignment with them? If you were in alignment with them, then they’d make their products a lot cheaper!”

Time reporter Lev Grossman who wrote this article said, "It was the only time I saw him display irritation."