Meta may be under fire by regulators and distrusted by consumers, but never forget that its core advertising business is a gold mine. The company reported $29.65 billion revenue for the first quarter of 2023. That’s up 3% from the pandemic-depressed Q1 last year, which isn’t great but better than the year-on-year declines in every quarter since.
Italian users age 13+ are only allowed to use the AI chatbot with parental consent, and anyone 18+ must confirm age.
Meta would love to collect commissions on in-platform sales, a.k.a. social commerce. U.S. and European results have been mixed at best, although it’s booming in China. But this survey by Magna Media Trials and Reprise Commerce says things are better than they seem: 92% of respondents said they’d be willing to purchase on social if it offers good deals and real-time customer service, and 46% of U.S. respondents said they have already made a social commerce purchase.
Google lashed out at the Department of Justice’s threat to break up the company, calling the proposals “radical.” Among other things, Google says the proposals would threaten users’ privacy, stifle innovation and break Android and Chrome. Given the appeals process, it will likely be years before we know whether Google will stay in one piece.