While #DeleteFacebook has been trending strongly on the internet for a couple of weeks since the Cambridge Analytica personal data-raping scandal broke, the ensuing fallout doesn’t appear to have immediately impacted upon Facebook’s bottom line.
The social media piranha/pariah has reported a gargantuan 63 per cent increase in profits in the first quarter of 2018, with 2.2 billion monthly active users – up 13 per cent year on year.
The improper handling of data of 87 million Facebook users by Cambridge Analytica did nothing to stop the social media site posting $4.99 billion in quarterly net income on sales of $11.97 billion.
Perhaps the tide of public opinion will see a slow-burning turn away from Facebook, coupled with advertisers reducing their ad spend on the platform in a show of sympathy and solidarity with their customers. The effects of this – if any – will be reflected in Facebook’s future profit announcements.
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Engineering & Technology magazine 