Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Getty Images
Facebook said Wednesday that it continued to gain users, a bit of good news for the scandal-plagued social network, which started the day with a fight involving iPhone maker Apple.
Monthly active users — the number of people who log on to Facebook every month — rose 9 percent year-over-year to 2.32 billion in the fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31. User growth is crucial for Facebook, which makes its money by selling advertising targeted to user interests.
The rise in users comes as the company deals with yet another black eye. Overnight, Apple blocked a research app the social network was distributing to iPhone users, after it was discovered Facebook had sidestepped the review process. The Facebook Research app paid users between the ages of 13 to 35 up to $20 per month in exchange for letting Facebook access their phone and web activity, including personal messages.
Facebook, which still posted a 61 percent rise in profits, is also grappling with the most serious crisis in its 15-year history. The leadership of CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg has been called into question, particularly after The New York Times reported the executives ignored warnings and deflected blame as scandals mounted. The social network has also faced criticism for reportedly giving other tech companies greater access to user data than was previously disclosed. And Facebook’s image wasn’t helped by a software bug that exposed the photos of up to 6.8 million people to third-party app developers.
The problems, along with growing concerns about how Facebook profits from the user data it collects, prompted calls for people to delete their Facebook accounts. The movement was so widespread that the hashtag #DeleteFacebook trended on Twitter for a period in March.
On Wednesday, Facebook reported that its revenue grew by 30 percent, to $16.9 billion, in the fourth quarter, beating the $16.3 billion expected by analysts who were surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
Facebook shares jumped nearly 8 percent in after-hours trading to $162.42.
An uphill battle
Zuckerberg has defended the company’s business model, arguing last week in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that it enables billions of people to connect with family and friends for free, and lets small businesses sell their products and create jobs.
But the company still needs to demonstrate that it’s doing enough to safeguard user data, given its track record when it comes to privacy. In March, Facebook revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a UK-based political consultancy, harvested the data of up to 87 million users without their permission.
Facebook is also trying to do a better job of educating users about how to control the ads they see on the social network. A study published this month by the Pew Research Center showed that 74 percent of adults in the US who use Facebook didn’t know the social network keeps a list of their interests and traits for ad targeting.
Meanwhile, Facebook has bigger problems to worry about, including the spread of misinformation on the site, as well as election meddling by Russia and Iran.
On Monday, Facebook outlined how it was stepping up its efforts to combat fake news ahead of the European Parliament election in May. The company, which has faced allegations that it’s suppressing conservative speech, also revealed more details about a new board it’s creating to help review content it keeps up or pulls down.
First published Jan. 30, 1:17 p.m. PT
Update, 1:40 p.m.: Adds background.
CES 2019: See all of CNET’s coverage of the year’s biggest tech show.
Everything about Fortnite: What you need to know about the hit game.