Meta (META) investors saw the stock closing -2.95% the last 5 days, which means it sits at +38.59% YTD.
Let's go through the news around Meta this week together.
2. OLIGARCH ADS
3. TOUGHER EU RULES
4. INSTAGRAM CHANGES
5. INCREASED SECURITY
6. CBO VETRAN EXIT
7. QUICKER REVIEWS
8. ANALYST CHANGES
LEGEND: Positive News | Neutral News | Negative News
Meta has come under scrutiny as thousands (7,000+) of employees received subpar performance reviews. As mentioned on their earnings call, Meta plans to flatting their org structure to remove middle managements in hopes on improved efficiency and decision making.
It appears the strategy here is to see a percentage of employees leave after this review cycle, to prevent another mass round of layoffs.
Meta supposedly allowed an Oligarch (Konstantin Malofeev) to use the platform to influence US politics during the 2016 presidential election. Moreso, they allowed paid ads to be run - despite US sanctions.
This has led to calls for greater regulation and oversight of social media platforms to prevent foreign interference in democratic processes.
The EU is introducing new rules (Digital Services Act) that would require tech companies like Meta to do risk management and external independent auditing. They'll also have to share data with authorities and researches when required.
Two big changes to Instagram this week. Firstly, they're launching a Broadcast Chat feature (Instagram Channels) which will support text, images, polls, etc. and encourage more collaboration on the platform.
The other change is a feature delete - where Meta is ending a live-shopping feature on IG. Starting March 16, tagging products won't be supported in live broadcasts on IG anymore.
Meta's board has approved an increase in Zuckerberg's security.
The increase is for $4M extra spend on personal security - which is ironic because Meta has been focusing on cutting costs and laying off employees, yet a $4M increase was approved with issue.
Meta's CBO (Chief Business Officer) Marne Levine is leaving the company after a 13 year run.
This looks like a move done with Meta's efficiency and reorg in mind, and Levine will be around until summer to help with a seamless transition to teams taking on her prior responsibilities.
Meta's Oversight Board announced a quicker review process for content moderation cases.
Rulings for cases could range from 48 hours to 30 days, however this is much more efficient than prior time frames (which could be longer than a couple months). This is a move towards efficiency to please regulators that the company is serious about making sure Meta's platforms (IG, FB, etc.) is a safe place for all.
There were no new analyst changes to report this week for Meta.
We look forward to spending a few minutes with you next Sunday for some new Meta news!
Disclosure: I am a Meta Platforms (META) shareholder at the time of publishing.
