How many facebook users in uk


Facebook UK Statistics (2022) | Latest Facts and Figures

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Our latest report analyses the most important Facebook stats in the UK (and shows how Facebook users are changing).

Facebook UK Statistics 2022

For most of the world, Facebook is, without a doubt, the largest and most prominent social media site. Starting way back in 2004 in a Harvard dorm room, as the brainchild of Mark Zuckerberg, the site experienced a meteoric rise. Transforming from a university network into the greatest social media service and communication platform the world has ever seen. Friends could post their thoughts, talk to each other, and like pages with their favourite interests.

As its contemporaries such as Myspace or Beebo fell by the wayside, Facebook only went from strength to strength. The story was so captivating that it even became an Oscar-winning Hollywood Blockbuster, aptly titled ‘The Social Network – for there could be no other. Yet, while in 2010, when the film was released, the site boasted 400 million users, today that number has rocketed to over 2. 6 billion monthly active users.

In the UK, the site has been wildly popular since its inception, gaining a million active users by 2007. However, is Facebook still the monolith it once was? Is the site still gaining new users, or has the heyday of the world’s biggest social media site passed?

Below we delve into the stats behind the giant: exploring the composition of Facebook users in the UK, the most popular content and content creators, as well as the current state of its advertising finances.

Table of Contents

Key Facebook Statistics for the United Kingdom

  • Facebook has 44.84 million users in the UK
  • Facebook is used daily by 44% of the UK population
  • The largest age group using Facebook in the UK is aged 25 to 34 years old, with 11.2 million users
  • Since 2012, users aged 18 – 24 have declined from 24% to 16% in 2020
  • Users aged 65+ have increased from 4% in 2019 to 9% in 2020
  • 52% of users are women and 48% are men
  • Users spend an average of 23 minutes on Facebook every day
  • In Q1 2020, Facebook ad revenue growth rate was down 9% compared to Q1 2019
  • The most popular video creator on Facebook is LADBible with 1. 6 billion views
  • The most popular Facebook group in the UK is Manchester United with 73m+ views

How many people use Facebook in the UK?

Currently, there are 44.84 million users in the UK, with the userbase still seeing considerable growth over time. Back in October 2018, the site claimed to have 39.3 million people. Between 2015 and 2021, it was estimated that Facebook’s UK userbase would rise by 7.93 percent, eventually growing to 42.27 million users by 2022. The site has surpassed the forecasts, with 2022 likely to see substantially higher numbers than predicted.

As such, the UK continues to be the largest market for Facebook in Europe. Followed by France with 32 million users, and Italy and Germany with 30 million and 28 million respectively. However, these markets are dwarfed by India with 280 million users, the US with 190 million, even Indonesia, which boasts an audience of 130 million. In fact, Europe as a whole only comprises 15.9 percent of Facebook’s entire userbase.

What percentage of the UK have Facebook?

Daily, Facebook is used more than once by 44 percent of the UK online population. Of the total population of the UK, 66 percent of people are Facebook users. Of the UK adults that go online, only 21 percent haven’t used Facebook at all. As of 2017, the company obtained a market share of 75% of the UK social media market – continuing to be the most dominant service in the landscape.

What age group uses Facebook the most in the UK?

In 2020, the largest age group using Facebook in the UK was 25 to 34-year-olds, with 11.2 million users. Meanwhile, the least likely to use the site were those aged 13 to 17, making up just 4.5 percent of the userbase. Back in 2019, 18 to 24-year-olds were the fourth most common age group, at 16 percent of men and 17 percent of women, behind 45 to 64-year-olds, and 35 to 44-year-olds. Surprisingly, over 65s still comprised greater than 9% of all users.

Since 2012, the 18 to 24 market has declined in prominence, when it comprised 24 percent of all users. In contrast, older users are now much more prominent on the site, with over 65s only 4 percent of users in 2012, suggesting an ageing userbase.

What gender uses Facebook the most in the UK?

Women are the most frequent users of Facebook in the UK with 52 percent of users, a trend that has been stable since 2012, likely reflecting the underlying demographics of the country.

However, female users are slightly more common than male users, 27 percent being aged 25 to 34, compared to 25 percent for men. In contrast, older men are more common on the site than older women.

Facebook does reflect a more equal gender balance than other social media sites. Between 2014 and 2018, on Twitter, male and female users account for 56 and 44 percent of users, respectively.

How long do people spend on Facebook in the UK?

According to Ofcom’s annual review of UK internet consumption, around nine in ten internet users visit Facebook each month, spending an average of 23 minutes per day on the site. 74% percent of Facebook users check the site at least once a day. With more than a third (35 percent) of total time spent on the internet in the UK being on websites owned by either Google or Facebook. Despite this, trust amongst users regarding the protection of user data was low, at only 31 percent.

How much ad revenue does Facebook generate in the UK?

Facebook has recently seen a drop in ad revenue during the first quarter of 2020, with a 17 percent growth rate, compared to a 26 percent ad revenue growth during the same period of 2019. In the UK, Facebook had previously seen rapid growth in ad revenue, from 181 million back in 2011, to over 2.5 billion by the end of 2019.

In 2018, the ad revenue generated in the UK was more than double that of Germany. When compared with other forms of digital advertising, social media was third behind search and banner. With the high penetration rate of Facebook into the UK market, brands can target their advertising campaigns directly to the users that matter.

Collectively, as of 2019, both Facebook and Google controlled 63.3 percent of the entire digital advertising market. However, by 2021 Google’s market share is expected to slump from 40 percent to 36.7 percent; meanwhile, Facebook will see a continued rise, jumping from 22.7 percent of the market to over a quarter, at 28 percent.

What is the most popular page on Facebook in the UK?

  1. Manchester United (73m+)
  2. Adele (61m+)
  3. Jason Statham (53m+)
  4. David Beckham (51m+)
  5. UNILAD (42m+)
  6. Manchester City (39m+)
  7. The Beatles (39m+)
  8. Coldplay (37m+)
  9. Arsenal (37m+)
  10. One Direction (36m+)

The most popular Facebook page in the UK is the football club Manchester United, with over 73 million followers. In fact, three football clubs make the top ten, with the other two being Manchester City, with almost 40 million followers, and Arsenal at 37 million.

Except for UNILAD – a social news company that focuses on funny videos and viral stories – Jason Statham, David Beckham and music dominated the rest of the top ten. Adele proved the second most popular page with almost 62 million fans, with classics such as The Beatles and Coldplay taking the 7th and 8th spots respectively.

Meanwhile, Amazon UK is the most popular brand page on Facebook in the UK in 2020, with 5.73 million local fans.

The fastest-growing pages in the UK also had a sporting slant, with The Emirates, Sheffield United and England Cricket all proving to be increasingly popular. Alongside them was culinary legend Gordon Ramsey, who had gained over 3,000 fans.

What is the most viewed video creator on Facebook?

Worldwide, LAD Bible continues to be the most popular video creator on Facebook, with 1.6 billion views. UNILAD and Viral TRND are tied for second place with both boasting an impressive 1.5 billion views.

A mind-bending 4 billion views of Facebook videos take place every single day. That breakdowns to 500 million viewers, sitting and watching 100 million hours of Facebook video content. Surprisingly, 85 percent of users watch videos with the sound off; however, most people are watching on the go, with 65 percent of views coming from mobile viewers.

Who has the most friends on Facebook?

Based on the number of fans, the most followed individual on Facebook is Cristiano Ronaldo. However, Facebook itself is the most followed page, with second place going to Samsung and Ronaldo in third.

The site also recently removed their limit on the number of confirmed friends each user was allowed. Priorly, there was a limit of around 1,000 friend requests in a queue, and a total of 5,000 confirmed friends. Pages had been developed as an alternative, as it was reported there were technical issues with bigger accounts.

Sources

UK Users:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1012080/uk-monthly-numbers-facebook-users/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/553538/predicted-number-of-facebook-users-in-the-united- kingdom-uk/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1030055/facebook-users-united-kingdom/

Age Group:

https://www. statista.com/statistics/278287/age-distribution-of-facebook-users-in-great-britain/)

Gender:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/278281/gender-breakdown-of-facebook-users-in-great-britain/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/278319/gender-breakdown-of-twitter-users-in-great-britain/

Countries:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/268136/top-15-countries-based-on-number-of-facebook-users/

Advertising Revenue:

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/facebook-expects-ad-revenue-flat-april-steep-fall- march/1681865

https://www.statista.com/statistics/268738/facebooks-digital-advertising-revenue-in-the-uk/

https://www.emarketer.com/content/facebook-and-google-control-ever-greater-portion-of-uk-ad- market

UK Stats:

https://www.facebook.com/iq/insights-to-go/tags/united-kingdom

https://avocadosocial.com/latest-social-media-statistics-and-demographics-for-the-uk-in-2019/

https://www.fourthsource.com/news/facebook-uk-stats-you-should-know-8577

https://www. socialbakers.com/statistics/facebook/pages/total/united-kingdom

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/149253/online-nation-summary.pdf

Global Stats:

https://99firms.com/blog/facebook-video-statistics/

https://99firms.com/blog/facebook-live-stats/

https://blog.hootsuite.com/facebook-statistics/

http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Facebook-Statistics-2010.jpg

Video Views & Fans:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/537710/most-watched-facebook-video-publishers/

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2017/07/most-popular-facebook-video-of-all-time-revealed.html

https://tubularlabs.com/blog/facebook-video-views-april-2019/

https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2019/05/these-april-publishers-earned-the-most-facebook-video-views.html

https://www.statista.com/statistics/269304/international-brands-on-facebook-by-number-of-fans/

Tom Bendix2022-01-04T11:07:24+00:00

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How Many People Use Facebook in the UK [2021 Facts and Data]

Today when most people think of social media, they think of Facebook. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that the platform that launched social networking and reached over 2.7 billion users globally, is also quite popular in the UK.

But just how many people use Facebook in the UK every day? Is the number of users going up or down? 

We’ve got the answers.

Let’s explore them together.

Top Ten Must-Know Facebook Stats in the UK 
  • 51 million people use Facebook in the UK. 
  • 97.8% of Facebook users in the UK access the platform via phone. 
  • Brits spend more time on Facebook than any other social media.
  • 25 to 34 years is the age group that uses Facebook the most.
  • Facebook reported revenue of £1.65 billion in 2018. 
  • Facebook ad revenue grew by 17% in the first quarter of 2020.
  • Facebook ads can reach 37 million people in the UK.
  • UK-based entertainment social publisher LADBible was the most popular video creator on Facebook.
  • The average Facebook user likes 16 posts a month.
  • Manchester United has one of the most popular Facebook pages in the UK. 

UK Facebook Statistics 

1. 51 million people use Facebook in the UK. 

(Statista) 

According to Statista, as of December 2020, there are 51 million Facebook users in the UK. That is over six million more compared to December 2019, when 44.86 million Brits used the platform. 

2. 66% of the UK population has Facebook.

(Social Films) (StatCounter) (Statista)

According to StatCounter, Facebook is the leading social networking site in the UK, far ahead of Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. 

Here are a few more figures and facts to demonstrate how popular Facebook is in the UK:

  • 66% of the entire population in the UK uses the platform. 
  • 44% of the UK population are Facebook daily active users.
  • 74% of Facebook active users visit the site every day. 
  • There are 4.2 million Facebook monthly active users on Android devices. 
  • Only 21% of internet users in the UK never use Facebook. 
3. 88% of social media users in the UK had a Facebook profile in 2019. 

(Ofcom)

16% of those are Facebook-only users, with adults over 65 years of age being more likely to have accounts on Facebook only. Compared to five years ago, however, the numbers were quite different. Namely, in 2014, 97% of social media users had a Facebook profile, and for 48% of them, this was the only social media account they had.

4. 97.8% of Facebook users in the UK access the platform via phone. 

(DataReportal)

Mobile phones remain the preferred method of accessing social media networks in the UK, which is not surprising given the country’s high smartphone penetration rate.  

Facebook usage statistics for 2020 show that the majority of users log on via their mobile phone, while only 2.2% access the site through a laptop or desktop computer. What’s more, 69.1% only use their phone to log on in contrast to 28.7% who use both computers and phones. 

5. Usage of Facebook’s mobile app has declined by 38% in the UK.

(DIGIT.FYI) (Statista)

Mixpanel estimates that the number of interactions within the app has declined by an average of 2.6% per month, pointing to a spread of Facebook user decline that has affected not just the UK, but the rest of the world as well. Despite the fall in user interactions, Facebook remains the UK’s favourite social media site, dominating the market with a 54.2% share as of October 2020.

6. Brits spend more time on Facebook than any other social media.

(Ofcom)

According to Ofcom’s latest report, the average UK adult spends 23 minutes and 3 seconds on Facebook every day.   That’s well ahead of Instagram, where users spend an average of 4 minutes 41 seconds, Twitter (3 minutes 45 seconds), and Reddit (2 minutes 30 seconds).

7. There are 35.73 million Messenger users in the UK.

(Statista) (Messenger People)

Here are some interesting Facebook Messenger statistics: 

  • Data shows that in December 2020, there were nearly 35.73 million Messenger users in the UK.
  • Facebook Messenger is the second most used messaging service in the UK. It’s preceded by WhatsApp, as the most popular app for sending and receiving instant messages.
  • A 2020 survey reveals that 75% of respondents regularly use Facebook Messenger. That’s slightly less than the 81% who said the same about WhatsApp. 

Facebook User Statistics

8. 25 to 34 years is the age group that uses Facebook the most.

(Statista)

The most common group on Facebook are young adults. Data from December 2020 shows that the average age of Facebook users in the UK is between 25 and 34. On the other hand, the smallest group to use Facebook are those aged from 13 to 17. 

9. 19.4% of Facebook users in the UK are seniors.

(Napoleon Cat) 

Unsurprisingly, the share of older adults using the platform in the UK is much smaller than that of younger generations. In fact, data on Facebook users by age from December 2019 shows that 10.7% of users are aged between 55 and 64, while 8.7% are 65 years of age or above. 

10. 52% of the monthly active users on Facebook in the UK are women.

(Social Films)

When it comes to genders analysis on Facebook, it seems that women take the lead. In the UK, 52% of users on Facebook identify as female as opposed to 48% who identify as male. These figures put women as the most frequent Facebook users in the UK, which is not that surprising seeing as how the UK has more women than men as a percentage of the population.  

11. Facebook users are pretty well-distributed across all income levels. 

(Statista)

There are Facebook users in almost every household in the UK, regardless of income. That said, a 2018 survey on Facebook user demographics reveals that 82% of households with an average annual income between £14,000 and £21,000 use Facebook in the UK. 

Facebook Revenue Statistics 

12. Facebook reported revenue of £1.65 billion in 2018. 

(Metro.co.uk)

Facebook annual revenue stood at £1.65 billion in 2018, resulting in the tech giant paying £28.5 million in UK taxes. Facebook’s total tax bill for 2018 came in at £30.4 million, but this was reduced by £1.9 million due to deferred tax and the effects of changes in tax rates.

13. Facebook ad revenue grew by 17% in the first quarter of 2020.

(Social Films)

Despite significant growth in ad revenue, this is still a drop from the 26% growth registered in the first quarter of 2019. Historically, Facebook has seen incredibly rapid growth in ad revenue increasing from 181 million in 2011 to just over 2.5 billion in 2019.

14. Facebook accounted for 60% of the UK’s digital ad market in 2020.

(eMarketer)

Last year, Facebook made up more than half of the digital ad market in the UK. Combined with Google, Facebook’s share of the UK’s digital ad market stood at 67.8% in 2020. Although the pandemic took its toll, the combined share of Google and Facebook should rebound to 69.1% this year, projections and Facebook stats for 2021 indicate.

15. The average CTR for Facebook ads is 0.5%.

(HubSpot) (AdEspresso)

According to research by HubSpot and nanigans, Facebook’s click-through rate in the UK stands at 0.5%, in line with other European countries. The cost-per-click, on the other hand, is relatively higher than the rest of the world. At $1.04 (or  £0.76), the price of Facebook ads in the UK is higher than the global average of $0. 39.

16. Facebook ads can reach 37 million people in the UK.

(DataReportal)

Facebook marketing statistics put the platform’s advertising reach at 65% of the total adult UK population (aged 13 and over). With such a massive audience, it’s no wonder marketers are paying higher costs to advertise on the platform. By contrast, ads on Twitter, one of the most popular social networking sites in the UK, can reach 16.70 million people in the UK, or 29% of the population over the age of 13. 

17. Spotify was the leading advertiser on Facebook.

(Statista)

Judging by the number of impressions, Spotify took the lead among the top-rated advertisers on Facebook. In the last quarter of 2019, the music streaming service generated one and a half billion impressions, coming ahead of retail giant Tesco. 

Facebook Video Statistics 

18. YouTube and Facebook are the highest-reaching video-sharing platforms in the UK.

(Ofcom)

YouTube is popular among children and adults with 89% and 77% using the site to watch videos. Facebook, however, is much more popular among adults than children. Ofcom’s report on Facebook usage statistics shows that 68% of UK adults used Facebook to watch videos in 2020 as opposed to just 29% of children.

19. More women use Facebook to watch videos than men. 

(Ofcom)

Even though it’s men who spend more time on video-sharing platforms in the UK, women are the biggest users when it comes to Facebook videos. Ofcom estimates that 75% of women watch videos on this social media compared to 61% of men. 

20. UK-based entertainment social publisher LADBible was the most popular video creator on Facebook.

(Social Films)

With 1.6 billion views across the world, LADSBible was Facebook‘s most popular video creator. It was closely followed by UNILAD and Viral TRND, tied in second place with 1.5 billion views each.  

Facebook Interaction Stats

21. The average Facebook page fan engagement with posts of any kind was 3.26%. 

(DataReportal)

Posts on Facebook pages had a reasonably high interaction rate at 3.26%. Still, Facebook facts and figures demonstrate that at 4.48%, video posts had the highest level of engagement from page fans, while Facebook page status posts had the lowest at 2.15%. 

22. The average Facebook user likes 16 posts a month. 

(DataReportal)

The average female Facebook user liked 21 posts in the last 30 days, a survey by WeAreSocial reveals. Men, on the other hand, liked an average of 11 posts in the previous month. 

Women also tend to make more comments on posts. In other words, women comment on an average of 13 posts compared to men who make comments on 5 posts. On average, the Facebook user, stats show, comments on 8 posts over a 30-day period. 

23. 34% of Brits use Facebook as a news source.  

(Ofcom) 

Despite the popularity of Facebook as a news source in the UK, the majority of Brits (56%) still relied on BBC One for updates, particularly about the coronavirus. Interestingly, people who got their news from social media, like Facebook and Instagram, did not share trending articles or videos as much as they did before the lockdown. 

Facebook Page Statistics

24. Amazon UK is the most popular brand page on Facebook in the UK.

(Statista)

The most popular brand page on Facebook in the UK for the first quarter of 2020 is Amazon UK with 5.73 million local fans. The second most popular is UNREEL, with 4.86 million fans, while The Body Coach, with 3.84 million fans, is ranked third.

25. Manchester United has one of the most popular Facebook pages in the UK.

(Social Bakers)

With 73,371,686 total fans, the Facebook page of the football club Manchester United is the most popular. Ranked right behind are the pages of singer Adele (61,637,470 fans) and action star Jason Statham (52,962,068 fans). 

26. Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed person on Facebook around the world.

(Statista)

With over 122 million subscribers to his fan page as of June 2020, Ronaldo is the most popular individual on Facebook. Not only does he have a large base of followers, but he is also the only person on the three most popular pages on Facebook. The famous football player is preceded by the Facebook page (214.62 million followers) and Samsung (159.82 million followers). 

Wrapping It Up

Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the UK and has no intention of being dethroned any time soon, especially when considering how many people use Facebook in the UK.

If you still don’t have an account, perhaps these insightful Facebook stats will inspire you to open one today. 

As a writer for Don’t Disappoint Me, my job is to collect relevant key information and interpret it into a wide range of content. I also have an MSc in Marketing, so I am always trying to expand my knowledge and discover new and exciting areas of digital marketing, SEO and web traffic building. I am a nature enthusiast, so when I’m not researching and analyzing, I love to go hiking with my dogs, camping, or snowboarding. I am a bookaholic as well and have an ongoing obsession with crime TV shows and movies.

Cambridge Analytica could have obtained data from 87 million Facebook users

  • Natalka Pisnya
  • BBC Russian Service, Washington

in events.

Image copyright PA

Facebook believes that politically targeted advertising firm Cambridge Analytica has accessed the data of nearly 87 million Facebook users. nine0018

Most of them are Americans, but there are also British residents among them, there are about 1. 1 million of them.

Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer spoke about the new data and the company's next steps in his blog.

Former Cambridge Analytica director of research Christopher Wylie spoke of the 50 million people whose data his company has collected.

  • How to find out what Facebook knows about you
  • What the owners of accounts removed from Facebook because of the "troll factory" say
  • Block on demand: bill introduced in Duma threatening Facebook

According to a previous statement by Facebook, the Cambridge Analytica page was taken down after it became aware that the company obtained and did not destroy the personal information of users who uploaded the questionnaire -This Is Your Digital Life app.

With this application, Global Science Research has made it possible to collect personal data from social media users. nine0011

According to preliminary data, the number of such users was 270 thousand people. Now, according to the BBC, this figure is 350 thousand people.

The personal information of all these individuals was subsequently shared with third parties, including those involved in the 2016 US election campaign.

According to the American newspapers Los Angeles Times and US Today, the company that collaborated with Donald Trump also received this data. This company studied such data and sent targeted information to swing voters. nine0011

Image copyright, Getty Images

Image caption,

This is one of the biggest scandals that have happened to Facebook in its 14 years of existence

This is one of the biggest scandals that has happened to Facebook in its entire 14 years of existence.

Its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, who has been on the fence since the scandal began, confirmed his intention to testify to the House Energy and Commerce Committee on April 11. nine0011

This will be his first appearance in front of congressmen, but certainly not the last: they wanted to see Zuckerberg on the Senate committees on commerce and jurisprudence.

  • How to protect your personal data on Facebook

Facebook is also being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission, which has begun its own investigation into how Facebook users' data is kept safe and secure.

According to Schroepfer's blog, Facebook will take new security measures in response to the scandal:

  • So-called third-party applications will no longer be able to access guest lists and messages on event pages
  • Users will no longer be able to search for information about each other using a phone number or email address. It was this option that was abused by information collectors who used it to collect data
  • information about calls and text messages collected using the Android and Facebook Light operating systems will be stored for only a year, data on the time of calls will not be saved
  • Facebook users will have a link next week in their newsfeeds that will tell them which so-called "third party" applications they use and what kind of information these applications receive.

UK Law Enforcement Says Implementing End-to-End Encryption on Facebook Will Remove Their Ability to Track Child Abuse Online

What Happened on Facebook will deprive the police of the ability to detect facts of child abuse. nine0011

Context

In August 2021, Facebook implemented end-to-end encryption for voice and video calls in the Facebook Messenger app.

Why it matters

In 2020, over 21 million cases of online child sexual abuse were recorded worldwide.

Trend

Child sexual abuse is also a problem on other platforms.
But at the same time

End-to-end encryption is now used in many instant messengers and is perceived, including by users, as an important element in ensuring privacy. nine0011

What happened

Facebook's end-to-end encryption could prevent law enforcement in the UK from tracking down facts online that point to child abuse. This is reported by The Guardian, citing a statement by the Director of Threat Management at the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK, Rob Jones.

  • He noted that due to the introduction of end-to-end encryption, police officers will lose access to data about abusive users and will not be able to help children who have been abused. nine0004
  • Rob Jones spoke out following Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's announcement of plans to expand the end-to-end encryption system to the company's other platforms.

Context

In August of this year, Facebook implemented end-to-end encryption for voice and video calls in the Facebook Messenger app. The company clarified that in this way they intend to make services more secure.

  • The decision to implement end-to-end encryption came amid growing popularity of voice and video calls across all Facebook platforms. Now their number exceeds 150 million a day. nine0004
  • Along with the introduction of end-to-end encryption, the company expanded the settings for disappearing messages in Facebook Messenger (now users can choose how long the message disappears), and also began testing other features. For example, a number of users were given access to end-to-end encryption for group chats and calls.
  • The company also announced testing of the end-to-end encryption system in Instagram, which should begin soon.

Why it matters

Rob Jones noted that many Facebook users are sexually interested in children, and the company's innovation will make it impossible for the police to reach them.

  • According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), over 21 million cases of online child sexual abuse were recorded worldwide in 2020. At the same time, more than 20 million of them were on Facebook.
  • UK Home Secretary Priti Patel is set to launch an international campaign against end-to-end encryption and propose a new fund to fight online child sexual abuse, The Guardian reports. nine0004

Trend

Other company platforms are also facing the issue of child sexual abuse.

  • For example, in 2019, BBC journalists, as part of their investigation, found hundreds of sexual comments under the videos of underage users aged 9 years on the TikTok app. In addition, journalists found that many children faced abuse and threats of kidnapping from unknown users. nine0004
  • In April 2021, the UK Center for Social Justice published a report entitled "Children at Risk: Our Nation's Response to Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation". In it, analysts wrote about the need to recognize end-to-end encryption in WhatsApp and similar platforms as a violation of security measures. Experts found unconvincing claims that the encryption system has advantages in maintaining data confidentiality and preventing financial crime.

But at the same time

End-to-end encryption in instant messengers and social networks is considered an important element in ensuring user privacy. The technology is used, in particular, in voice and video calls in the VKontakte messenger, as well as in the social network Twitter.


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