A figurine is seen in front of the Facebook logo in this illustration taken, March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic - RC155C02C7D0 (Reuters)
Finally some news that Facebook should "like."
The majority of U.S. Facebook users still continue to use the service as much as they did or more since news of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal has come to light, according to a new survey.
The poll, conducted by Reuters/Ipsos, surveyed 2,194 adults in the U.S. (including those that used other social media services) and found that 75 percent of Facebook users said they use "it more" or "haven't changed how much I used it."
FACEBOOK OUTLINES STEPS TO COMPLY WITH NEW PRIVACY LAWS FOLLOWING CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA SCANDAL
In an interview with Reuters, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said, "I have yet to read an article that says a single person has been harmed by the breach. "Nobody’s outraged on a visceral level."
Other findings from the Reuters/Ipsos survey show that the remaining 25 percent of users said they used it less or had left the service.
Seventy-four percent of users said they were aware of their current privacy settings, while 78 percent of users said they knew how to change them. Those figures are drastically higher than other social media services, such as Twitter and Instagram (also owned by Facebook). Just 55 percent and 60 percent of Twitter/Instagram users said they were aware of current privacy settings, while 58 and 65 percent said they knew how to change their settings.
Some 43 percent of respondents to a recent Fox News poll said that they had considered deleting their Facebook account.
In recent weeks, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company has taken several steps to improve user privacy, most recently announcing a "Clear History " privacy tool.
FOR MANY ONLINE AMERICANS, FACEBOOK IS A HABIT
No business impact yet
Facebook, which has over 2 billion monthly active users, depends on its users spending significant amounts of time on the service, which is roughly 90 percent supported by ad revenue.
The results of the Reuters/Ipsos survey are a stark contrast to a recent survey done by the Ponemon Institute, a U.S.-based think tank, when it comes to Facebook and privacy.
A mid-April survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute, a U.S.-based think tank, found that just 27 percent of 3,000 respondents believe Facebook will protect their privacy and user data, down from 79 percent in 2017.
ZUCKERBERG ADMITS FACEBOOK COLLECTS DATA ON NON-USERS
The findings of the poll, which was conducted from April 26 to 30, may give clues to advertisers and analysts as to whether Facebook's business suffered any blowback from the scandal, which came to light in late March, after reports by The Guardian and The New York Times.
Facebook's first-quarter results easily surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, as the embattled social media giant reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.69, well above Wall Street expectations of $1.35 a share. Revenue jumped 50 percent year-over-year to $11.97 billion, topping the $11.41 billion analysts had anticipated.
Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.