, Columnist
Emerging Markets Can't Quit Facebook
The social network is conquering e-commerce in the developing world.
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Photographer: Bay Ismoyo/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
Indonesia, home to roughly 6 percent of Facebook Inc.'s users, isn't happy with the social-media giant. Officials there are even threatening to shut the service down after its latest egregious privacy scandal.
That sounds like an ominous threat -- but it's empty. In Indonesia, as across the developing world, Facebook is no longer just a platform for sharing photos and news. It's becoming perhaps the world's most important channel for small businesses to reach customers. From Asia to Africa, countries are learning that they need Facebook as much as Facebook needs them -- and maybe more so.