Facebook defends ads on site, says users regularly connect with brands

Defending the increased presence of commercial brand on its platform, Facebook has reportedly said that users aren’t revolting against it.

The social networking giant disclosed the breakdown of Australian user figures for 2013, showing nine million Aussies visited the site every day.

According to news.com.au, Facebook Australia’s head of measurements and insight, Helen Crossley, said that 63 percent of local users regularly ‘connected with brands’ on the site.

Crossley said that the company wants to help people connect to the brands that matter to them and it is ‘actually OK’ for brands to be in the news feed.

The data about the breakdown of figures for 2013, compiled by TNS showed that Facebook users spent 12 percent of their total media consumption time on the site while 33 percent of users engaged with politics on the site, while 40 percent posted news articles and 32 percent used it to keep up with current affairs.

This comes amidst the social media giant facing backlash by privacy agents who have claimed that exposure to alcohol brands on the site could lead to risky behaviour among teens who form a substantial chunk of the site’s regular users.