Facebook’s third-quarter earnings were higher than projected, despite the company’s continued negative news due to stolen internal papers.
In the three months ending in September, the social media behemoth recorded a profit of $9 billion (£6.5 billion), up from $7.8 billion the previous year.
However, Apple’s iOS 14 operating system received a new privacy upgrade that made it more difficult for marketers to target adverts to individual consumers.
It comes as a former employee made new allegations of unethical behavior.
Frances Haugen has made public a trove of internal papers indicating that Facebook prioritized business before user safety.
According to many media sources, the records demonstrate that Facebook failed to monitor content that encouraged hate speech and sex trafficking outside of the United States on a regular basis.
On a conference call with investors on Monday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “What we are seeing is a concerted attempt to selectively utilize hacked material to present a false picture of our firm.”
What This Means – Moving Forward
The social media behemoth announced that its monthly user base has increased by 6% to 2.91 billion in the year ending September 30.
Despite the company’s high profitability, revenue fell short of analyst estimates due to “headwinds” produced by Apple’s privacy requirements.
The privacy reform will have an impact on Facebook’s digital business in the fourth quarter, but the company anticipated to react to the changes over time.
The company said that it will spend $10 billion this year on its metaverse branch, known as Facebook Reality Labs, which is responsible for developing augmented and virtual reality technology, software, and content.
Global politicians and regulators are scrutinizing the world’s largest social media network, including the Federal Trade Commission, which has launched an antitrust case claiming anticompetitive activities.
The pressure has only increased as a result of the whistleblower papers, which were initially revealed by the Wall Street Journal.
Internal Facebook study on Instagram’s effects on teen mental health, whether Facebook’s platforms foment divisiveness, and Facebook’s handling of the 6 January Capitol incident are among them.
Ms. Haugen told UK MPs on Monday that Facebook is “unquestionably making hate worse.”
She said that Facebook’s safety teams were under-resourced, and that “Facebook has been hesitant to accept even minor financial sacrifices for safety.”
MPs are debating what additional laws to impose on major social media platforms as part of the proposed Online Safety Bill.
Despite the accusations, Facebook’s stock rose 1.3 percent in after-hours trade on Monday. So far this year, the company’s stock has increased by nearly 20%.
