Meta Platforms Statistics: Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly Facebook Inc.) is a provider of social networking, advertising, and business insight solutions. Through its virtual-reality vision, Metaverse, the company focuses on creating a virtual environment that allows people and technology to connect.
The company’s major products include Facebook, Instagram Messenger, Oculus Messenger, Messenger, and WhatsApp. It helps people connect with their families, friends, and coworkers around the globe and allows them to discover new products and services offered by local and international businesses. It allows people to share their thoughts, ideas, photos, videos, and other activities via mobile devices and personal computers with a wide range of audiences, from their closest friends to the general public.
Meta offers advertising placements that allow marketers to reach people according to various criteria, such as gender, age, location, interests, behavior, and even geography. The company is present in the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East, as well as Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. Meta’s headquarters are located in Menlo Park (California), the US.
R & D Overview
Meta’s R&D activities are focused on emerging technologies such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence AI, Machine Learning (ML), Blockchain and Crypto-Economy, network and connectivity, and computational photography. It also works on data science, database and economics, human-computer interaction, UX, natural speech processing, security, privacy, and systems to solve real-world problems that affect billions of people.
The company launched the AI Research Super Cluster in January 2022. This supercomputer is a next-generation AI supercomputer that will accelerate AI research and help build the Metaverse. Meta introduced Few-Shot Learner in December 2021. This new AI system allows for quick responses to new and evolving harmful content. FSL is available in over 100 languages and can learn from many types of data. The company spent US$ 24,655 million on R&D in FY2021. This was a 20.9% percentage of its revenue.
Statistics:
Meta Platforms Annual Revenue 2012-2021
Meta’s (formerly Facebook Inc.) revenue in 2021 was approximately 117 billion US Dollars, an increase of around 86 billion U.S. dollars from the previous fiscal year. Digital advertising is the main source of income for social networks.
Meta Platforms Annual Revenue 2012-2021, By Segment
Meta, formerly Facebook Inc., generated approximately 115.66 Billion U.S. Dollars in revenue through its Family of Apps section. The segment includes Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and other services. Most of the revenue from this segment comes from advertising.
Meta Platforms Advertising Revenue Worldwide 2012-2021
Meta, formerly Facebook Inc, generated 114.93 Billion dollars in advertising revenues in 2021. The majority of revenue generated by social networks comes from advertising.
Meta Platforms Number of Employees 2006-2021
Meta, formerly Facebook Inc., has come a long way since its humble beginnings at Harvard dorm rooms. As of December 2021, the social network had 71,970 full-time employees, up from 150 in 2006. The total compensation of key executives was 112.84 million U.S. Dollars in 2019. The Chief executive of the company is Mark Zuckerberg, and the founder, and COO Sheryl Sandberg. CFO David Wehner is also a key executive.
Meta Platforms Worldwide Marketing Expenditure 2012-2021
Meta (formerly Facebook Inc.) spent just over 14 billion U.S. Dollars on marketing last year. This was up from 11.6 million U.S. Dollars the previous year. In 2021, Meta’s sales and marketing expenditures accounted for 12 % of the company’s total revenue.
Meta Platforms Ad Spend 2014-2021
Meta, previously known as Facebook Inc., had advertising expenses in excess of 2.9 billion U.S. Dollars in 2021. Meta’s 2020 advertising expenses were 2.26 billion, while 2019 were 1.57 billion U.S. Dollars.
Number of Monthly Active Instagram Users 2013-2021
Instagram is a social networking app that focuses on video and photo sharing. In a move toward the metaverse, Facebook owns Instagram. Instagram has reached 2 billion users worldwide as of December 2021. In June 2018, Instagram had 1 billion users.
History
2004
- Facebook was launched by Mark Zuckerberg and Chris Hughes at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- Students from Yale, Columbia, and Stanford universities are permitted to join.
- The company moved to Palo Alto California.
- 1 Mn Users are currently active on this site.
2005
- High school students could join Facebook.
- The company removed the “the” from its name and is now Facebook.
- 6 Mn users are currently logged on to the site.
2006
- Facebook Mobile Launches
- The News Feed has been introduced.
- Facebook expands to permit anyone to register.
2007
- Former Harvard students Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss sued Zuckerberg in federal court, alleging that he stole their idea for Facebook. They reached a $ 65 million settlement.
- Microsoft purchases a 1.6% share in Facebook for $240 Million.
- Facebook hired Sheryl Sandberg as the company’s chief operating officer.
2009
- Facebook launched the “Like” button.
- Facebook is now the No.1 according to PC World magazine; Facebook is now the No. 1 social network in America.
2010
- The movie “The Social Network,” a fictionalized account about the launch of Facebook, was released.
2011
- Facebook launches the Timeline feature.
- They settled charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission alleging that it engaged in deceptive acts regarding users’ privacy.
2012
- Facebook has announced that it has bought the photo-sharing site Instagram.
- Facebook’s initial public offering takes place
- Facebook has one billion monthly active users.
2013
- Edward Snowden published documents about the NSA’s Prism program. Zuckerberg claims that Facebook did not cooperate with the NSA in a blog post.
2014
- Facebook announced that it would purchase the mobile messaging service WhatsApp worth $19 billion.
- Facebook plans to buy virtual reality company Oculus VR Inc. for $2Bn.
- A study by Cornell University, the University of California San Francisco, and Facebook was published in Proceedings of the ‘National Academy of Science.’ According to the study, Facebook altered the content mix of the news feeds of 690,000 users in early 2012. The manipulations were done to gauge the user’s emotional responses. Users who were exposed to negative content were slightly more likely than others to post negative comments. The positive group produced more positive posts. Users react with anger to what they perceive as a dangerous social experiment.
2015
- Stock surges 3% to an all-time high. Its market value is now close to $245 Billion, more than Walmart (a $235 billion company).
- Facebook reaches a milestone: One Billion Users Log in to the Social Network in a Single Day.
2016
- Shares surged almost 9% to more than $118 after the company reported that its first-quarter sales rose 52% and profits increased nearly 200% over the same period in 2015.
- A ProPublica investigation showed that Facebook’s Ethnic Affinities option in ad customization could be used to discriminate against users in housing-related ads. This is prohibited under the Fair Housing Act. Announces it will remove the ethnic affinity option from housing-related ads. This is prohibited under the Fair Housing Act.
- Google announced that it would not allow fake news publishers to use their ad sales services. Facebook claims material from fake news publications is illegal, misleading, or deceptive. However, Zuckerberg rejects the notion that fake news from Facebook has influenced the recent US Presidential Election.
2017
- Facebook announces it has shut down 30,000 fake accounts in France, ahead of the country’s presidential election.
- Launches a “Related Articles Feature that links to articles from fact-checking sites like Snopes or PolitiFact.
- The company revealed that it sold approximately $100,000 in ads during the 2016 US Presidential Election Cycle using fake accounts and pages “likely run out of Russia.”
- ProPublica reported Facebook allows advertisers to target people who use terms like “Jew hater” in their profiles. Facebook then announces that it has removed anti-Semitic advertising types.
- According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook provided Special Counsel Robert Mueller with records relating to Russia-linked ads posted on the social media network during the US Presidential Campaign.
- Declares that it will share the content and related information it has obtained from more than 3,000 ads sold to Russia-linked accounts in the US House Intelligence Committees.
2017-a
- Facebook sent Congress copies of 3,000 Russian political ads. CNN reports some ads showed refugees as rapists, while others supported gun rights. According to a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, he plans to release some of the ads to the general public.
- This company announced new transparency measures, including the requirement that election-related ads disclose who paid for the post.
- CNN reported Facebook executives would tell Congress that around 126 million Americans might have viewed content created by a Kremlin-connected troll farm between June 2015 to August 2017. The next day, representatives of Facebook, Twitter, and Google will testify before Congress as lawmakers continue to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 elections.
- ProPublica reports it was able to buy dozens of housing advertisements targeted at audiences that excluded “African Americans,” mothers of high school students, people interested in wheelchair ramps, and Jews, as well as export from Argentina, Spanish-speaking countries, and Jews. After ProPublica’s September report, the company claimed that it had removed discriminatory ad tools. An executive at Facebook claims that ProPublica was able to buy the ads because of a technical glitch.
2018
- Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be conducting a survey asking users to rate news organizations and assign trust scores to them. These scores, along with other factors, will determine how much content each publication will appear on news feeds.
- Facebook announced that it was suspending Strategic Communication Laboratories, a data company, and its subsidiary Cambridge Analytica. The vice president of the social network and deputy general counsel stated that Cambridge Analytica had obtained user data via a third-party app, in violation of the company’s privacy policies. Aleksandr Kogan (a Russian-American psychology professor) collected the data. He also created a Facebook app that allowed 270,000 people to complete a personality quiz. For academic purposes, the volunteers agreed to share information from their profiles with Kogan. Kogan turned over the data, then to Cambridge Analytica. Facebook discovered the breach in 2015 and removed the app. Cambridge Analytica was then asked to verify that the data had been deleted.
- An investigation by the New York Times and the Observer of London found that Cambridge Analytica had obtained data from 50,000,000 American Facebook users through Kogan’s App. According to the investigation, Cambridge Analytica paid for the creation of the app and used this information to target political advertising for Trump.
- A group of Facebook investors filed a federal lawsuit against the company claiming that it made “materially false, misleading statements” regarding its privacy policies.
- In an interview with CNN, Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook made mistakes. He should have responded more strongly to protect user data. Also, he stated that his company is preparing to fight potential meddling during the 2018 midterm elections.
2018-a
- Shares fell 19% as executives warned that revenue growth would slow down as the company concentrates on user privacy. The sale of the company vaporizes $119 billion in market value, making it the largest single-day loss in public history.
- Facebook announced that it had removed a network of Russian-linked accounts and pages involved in organizing political events within the United States.
- Facebook informed users that a hacker had accessed information about nearly 50 million of their users. According to Facebook, the FBI is summoned to investigate. Two users filed a class-action lawsuit against the company on the day the breach was announced.
- The company announced that it was investigating a security vulnerability that allowed hackers to gain access to the phone numbers and email addresses of 30 million users.
- Facebook published a report detailing the failure of the company to stop misinformation from spreading in Myanmar, where the government has been accused of a brutal campaign of violence, oppression, and persecution against the Rohingya (HT2_ a religious minority of Muslims). Facebook was filled with government propaganda. This propaganda linked the Rohingya with terrorists.
- The New York Times published an investigation into Facebook’s aggressive crisis management strategies amid controversy over Russia’s use of the platform for meddling in the 2016 elections. According to the newspaper, the company employed Definers Public Affairs, an opposition research firm that engaged in attacks on Facebook critics. Reporters were encouraged by Definers to look into possible ties between an antiFacebook group and George Soros, a liberal billionaire. Facebook announced that it had stopped affiliating with Definers after the New York Times story was published.
- Conference call with reporters. Zuckerberg said that he found out about the company’s relationship with Definers through the New York Times article. The company responded to the article, citing alleged inaccuracies.
2018-b
- Facebook announced that a bug in third-party apps allowed them to view photos people might not have shared publicly. It is possible that as many as 6.8 million users could be affected.
- The New York Times reported Facebook gave more user data to companies than it admitted. The Times claims that, despite Zuckerberg’s assurances that users “have complete control” of who sees their content and that they have the right to delete it at any time, documents and interviews with 50 former Facebook employees show that other companies had access to user data.
- Facebook revealed that a large collection of data from two third-party app users was exposed to the public via Amazon cloud computing servers in such a manner that it could be downloaded by the public.
- The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it was accusing Facebook of violating the Fair Housing Act. This comes after a formal complaint was filed by HUD in August 2018. It claimed that Facebook allows landlords and sellers of homes to use its platform to engage in housing discrimination. According to the complaint, advertisers have the power to decide who sees ads related to housing based on demographics.
- Facebook announced that it had “dangerously” designated several high-profile individuals, including Louis Farrakhan (Hello, Nation of Islam leader), known for using antisemitic language, and Alex Jones (right-wing conspiracy theorist), and will be removing them from its platforms. Paul Nehlen (an anti-Semite who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2016 & 2018) and fringe right-wing media personalities Laura Loomer and Milo Yiannopoulos are also banned.
2019
- The Federal Trade Commission announced a $5 Billion settlement with Facebook. This resolves a wide-ranging investigation by regulators into the way that Facebook lost control of large troves of personal data and mishandled communications with users. This is the largest FTC fine ever.
- New York Attorney general Letitia James announced that the eight attorney generals of the District of Columbia and eight states had launched an antitrust investigation into Facebook. James states, “Company will utilize every investigative tool available to determine whether Facebook’s actions may have endangered consumers’ data, reduced quality of consumer choices, or raised the cost of advertising”.
- Facebook will hire third-party fact-checkers to analyze content to prepare for 2020. However, it will continue to exclude political ads and politicians from its fact-checking process.
- Facebook will begin labeling publications that are ” wholly/partially under the editorial control of their government as state-controlled media” in a wider effort to protect its platform from being misused to interfere with the 2020 US elections.
- Zuckerberg testified in front of the House Financial Services Committee on Facebook’s plans to develop Libra, its cryptocurrency program. The hearing will cover a broad range of concerns, including Zuckerberg’s company policy of not fact-checking political ads by elected officials and candidates.
2020
- Facebook announces 20 new members to its independent board. They include Helle ThorningSchmidt (ex-prime minister of Denmark), Alan Rusbridger (ex-editor-in-chief at The Guardian), and Tawakkol Karman (a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who supported non-violent change during the Arab Spring).
- Facebook employees organized a virtual walkout in protest of Zuckerberg’s refusal to act on a string of controversial posts by Trump. CNN has been told by a source that Facebook’s human resources department instructed managers not to take revenge against protestors or make them use paid time off.
- Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google’s parent firm, testify before the House antitrust subcommittee to discuss concerns that their businesses might be harming competition.
- Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would not accept any new political ads during the last week of the 2020 campaign. However, the platform will allow politicians to continue running lies through Election Day.
- Dozens are suing Facebook in two antitrust lawsuits. They claim that Facebook engaged in anticompetitive behavior. Facebook may be forced to sell assets such as Instagram and WhatsApp. This would effectively break up the company.
2021
- In light of the US Capitol Riots, a Facebook spokesperson told CNN that the company had removed pages and groups that represented militarized social movements and that they are continuing to take down those pages. Posts promoting violence during the inauguration week continue to circulate on Facebook. In a blog post, Zuckerberg stated that Facebook would ban President Trump’s account for at least the remaining term of his term and possibly “indefinitely.”
- Facebook’s Oversight Board confirms Trump’s ban from using its platform. This landmark decision confirms that the company suspended Trump in January following the US Capitol Riots. This decision applies to Facebook’s Instagram, where Trump has an account. The board has ordered Facebook to reconsider the decision within six months.
- Facebook announces Trump will not be allowed to use its platform until January 7, 2023, two years after he was suspended.
- A Federal Court dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust complaint against Facebook. The agency failed to present evidence supporting its claim that Facebook is a social media monopoly. The FTC resubmits its August complaint. A federal judge ruled in January 2022 that federal prosecutors may again try to prove that Meta illegally abused a monopoly on the social media marketplace — and that its subsidiaries Instagram and WhatsApp should be spun-off.
Moreover
- Frances Haugen, the whistleblower for Facebook, revealed his identity on “60 Minutes”. According to the product manager, who was responsible for civic integrity at Facebook, the documents prove that Facebook is aware that its platforms are being used to spread hate and violence and that Facebook has attempted to conceal that evidence.
- The Justice Department announced that Facebook would have to pay more than $14 million to settle a case in which US workers were denied employment. It claimed that it reserved jobs for foreign workers who had temporary visas in 2018 or 2019.
- Zuckerberg announces that Facebook will change its corporate name from “Meta” to “Meta” in a rebranding effort amid wide-ranging scrutiny over its various platforms. This announcement comes after hundreds of documents were leaked by a whistleblower. On December 1, the company will trade under the stock ticker “MVRS.”
2022
- Angela Underwood Jacobs is the sister of Dave Patrick Underwood. In May 2020, underwood was killed in an attack outside of a federal building in Oakland. Files a wrongful death lawsuit against Meta. Accuses the social media company Meta of encouraging violent content and connecting with alleged murderers online.
- Liza Lovdahl Gormsen is suing Meta to recover 2.3 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) and other damages in a class-action lawsuit. The suit alleges that Meta abused its market power by exploiting the personal data of 44,000,000 users.
- Texas files a suit against Meta. The suit is over claims that a Facebook photo-tagging feature was discontinued and failed to obtain Texans’ informed consent prior to obtaining their facial recognition data. According to the suit, Meta will be subject to a $35,000 civil penalty for each violation of state laws. This could amount to several billion, considering that Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, has made similar claims.
- Meta agrees that $90 million will be paid to settle a ten-year-old class-action lawsuit over a practice that allowed the social network to track users’ activities across the internet. This was despite the fact that they had already logged out. This settlement is the largest ever made by the company.
Meta Platforms Competitors:
Meta Platforms Inc Competitors
| wdt_ID | Company Name | Headquarters | No. of employees | Revenue | Entity type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Twitter, Inc. | United States | ~ 7,500 | $ 5,077 | Private |
| 2 | Snap, Inc. | United States | ~ 5,661 | $ 4,117 | Public |
| 3 | JOYY, Inc. | Singapore | ~ 7,449 | $ 2,619 | Public |
| 4 | Pinterest, Inc. | United States | ~ 3,225 | $ 2,578 | Public |
| 5 | Hello Group, Inc. | China | ~ 2,051 | $ 2,260 | Public |
| 6 | Weibo Corp. | China | ~ 6,147 | $ 2,250 | Public |
| 7 | Zhihu, Inc. | China | ~ 2,649 | $ 457 | Public |
| 8 | NextDoor Holdings, Inc. | United States | ~ 602 | $ 192 | Public |
| Company Name | Headquarters | No. of employees | Revenue | Entity type |
Recent Developments:
2022
- In January, Meta Platforms and Pure Storage Inc announced a partnership on AI Research SuperCluster (RSC).
- In February, Meta closed the acquisition of Customer, a Provider of software services.
- In April, Meta acquired presize.ai.
- Meta Platforms announced that they would open their first physical store in Metaverse Bet.
- In May, Meta Platforms provided access to a large model language for artificial intelligence research.
- In June, Meta announced that it would trade on the Nasdaq using the ticker symbol META.
- In May, Meta revealed its plans to offer commercial services on WhatsApp.
2021
- In June, Facebook acquired the UK-based Unit 2 Games.
- Facebook acquired a developer of a virtual reality game, BigBox VR.
- In October, Facebook awarded a contract to NEC to build a transatlantic subsea fiber-optic cable between Europe and the US.
- Facebook acquired AI Reverie, a provider of synthetic data to train machine learning algorithms.
- Facebook changed its name from Meta Platforms, Inc.
- Meta agreed to acquire Within, the creator of the immersive virtual reality workout app Supernatural.
- Meta Financial Group paid US$60 Million to Meta Financial Group in December for the acquisition of naming rights.
- In December, Meta acquired ImagineOptix, a manufacturer of optics technology.
- In February, Facebook and Shopify entered into a partnership to offer a checkout and payment processing system Shop Pay to Facebook and Instagram.
- In February, Facebook launched its e-commerce tool Facebook Shop in Canada and the UK.
- Facebook along with Reliance Industries, Google, and Infibeam entered into a partnership to set up a national digital payment network.
- In January, Facebook launched Facebook News. This destination is a section of the Facebook app that offers news from national and local outlets.
- Facebook announced in February that it would invest US$1 Billion over the next three years in the news industry.
- In March, Facebook entered into a partnership with Marvell to build 5G base stations.
- In April, Facebook announced that it would open a Chip Design Center (CDM) in Israel.
- Facebook and CleanMax entered into a partnership to move to 100% renewable energy in India.
- It entered into a partnership with Disney to share Conmebol Libertadores matches this year in Brazil.
- Facebook along with its subsidiary, Oculus announced the acquisition of Downpour Interactive.
Meta Platforms Fast Facts
- Meta had 2.91 billion monthly active users worldwide as of December 31, 2021.
- China blocks Meta and Instagram in North Korea.
- As of December 31, 2021, Meta had 71,970 employees.
- Facebook added “friending” to its lexicon.
