Social media giant’s stock scores big gain

Facebook stock surged during CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony, closing up 4.5 percent yesterday for the social media giant’s biggest gain in two years — even as the beleaguered boss was being grilled about data breaches by senators who have threatened regulation.

Shares are still down more than 10 percent since news of a data breach was first reported. But increased awareness of how the company profits from user data is unlikely to doom the company, one expert said.

“People want to share things,” said Betsy Sigman, a professor at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. “You’ve got 2 billion people on Facebook. It’s the world’s greatest registry ever.”

As the scandal over Facebook’s connection with Cambridge Analytica has unfolded, some users have begun abandoning Facebook, including high-profile celebrities and tech founders. Earlier this week, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak removed his Facebook account, and said the social media site had brought him more negatives than positives. Others have taken to Twitter to declare they would delete Facebook.

Sigman said people aren’t likely to leave Facebook en masse, but they may think twice about how much personal information they share.

“I think more people are aware of it and hopefully are aware of how to turn things off,” Sigman said. “I do think some people have toned down their presence on Facebook.”

Still, Facebook and Zuckerberg are trying to navigate a high-profile controversy that has its roots in Facebook’s basic business model: profiting off user data by selling targeted ads.