Facebook tops revenue estimates as FTC opens new antitrust probe
LA TimesFacebook Inc. is still adding users and exceeding analysts’ estimates for advertising sales, showing that the size and power of its social network have so far been unhindered by new regulatory constraints and criticism of its business model. In its second-quarter earnings report, the company also disclosed that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which earlier Wednesday announced the settlement of an inquiry into Facebook’s privacy practices, has opened a formal antitrust investigation into its business. While growth at the main Facebook app has slowed, the company is still adding users quickly on other properties, and has embarked on a project to weave its platforms together, creating an even bigger network. In a statement Wednesday, the company said 1.59 billion people log into the main social-media service daily, compared with the 1.57 billion users projected in a Bloomberg survey. In June, the company unveiled plans for a new global cryptocurrency, called Libra, that it hopes will lower the cost of sending money internationally and help increase payments and commerce across Facebook’s stable of apps.