Facebook lost daily users for the first time ever in the U.S. and Canada. CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he meant for that to happen. During yesterday’s Q4 earnings report — which was mostly sunny on the money side — Zuckerberg also said that users spent 50 million hours less per day on Facebook compared to the previous quarter, and blamed the drop in user time on fewer viral videos making it to the News Feed. Facebook says it’s trying to make sure people are spending quality time on the service, and not just passively scrolling. [Kurt Wagner and Rani Molla / Recode]
Recode Daily: Facebook totally meant to lose a million daily users
Plus, eBay is dropping PayPal as its payments processor, Whole Foods customers are complaining about empty shelves, and scientists write Amazon reviews of everyday stuff.
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After 15 years, eBay plans to cut off PayPal as its main payments processor. The shopping marketplace will move most of its payments volume to Amsterdam-based Adyen, which has worked with such global businesses as Uber, Netflix and Spotify. The move is being billed as a way to take more control over the checkout experience; it is also expected to add $2 billion to eBay’s business, because the company will start to charge eBay sellers for the payments service. Meanwhile, both eBay and PayPal reported earnings yesterday. [Jason Del Rey / Recode]
Twitter has notified at least 1.4 million users that they saw Russian propaganda during the 2016 election — that’s double the number Twitter initially identified. And top Democratic lawmakers slammed Facebook and Twitter yesterday for dodging new questions about the Russian propaganda campaign; part of the concern is Kremlin-aligned bots and trolls may be amplifying the #ReleaseTheMemo campaign, referring to a still-secret report that Republican leaders say shows abuse of power at the FBI.[Tony Romm / Recode]
Whole Foods customers are complaining that Amazon’s changes to the upscale grocery have led to noticeably near-empty shelves and fewer local products. Amazon is a leader in delivery, logistics and online sales, but doesn’t have much experience in brick-and-mortar retail; a new inventory management system is reportedly to blame. Maybe you’ll find what you’re looking for in the parking lot — Amazon’s “Treasure Truck” will hawk deals at Whole Foods lots across the country. [Daniela Galarza / Eater]
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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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