IN FEBRUARY, THE COMPANY FORMERLY KNOWN as Facebook lost $232 billion in value in the stock market—the biggest loss ever suffered by a U.S. company in a single day, a plunge equal to the combined market values of Netflix and Fedex. By the end of April, the stock had lost another fifth of its value.
Meta Platforms, as the company is now formally known, can only wish that a brutal stock beating is its only problem. Meta faces serious threats on several fronts, and any one of them might prove existential. For the first time in its 18-year history, the number of people who use the once-ubiquitous-seeming Facebook social network has been dropping. Privacy protections added by Apple last year to its phone software are hobbling Facebook's bread-and-butter ad business, which depends on keeping tabs on what users are up to. And the all-important youth market is shunning Facebook in favor of TikTok.
Meta is also facing a daunting level of ire, which is splashing over onto the rest of Big Tech-that is, Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft. These tech giants and Meta are facing scrutiny from regulators and legislators both in the U.S. and Europe. And they are all objects of an intensifying resentment on the part of the public. A sign of the times: A Democratic Congressional candidate in Virginia, Andy Parker, was, until pulling out in mid-April, running almost entirely on a platform of curbing Big Tech's enabling of bad behavior online.
This story is from the May 13, 2022 edition of Newsweek.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 13, 2022 edition of Newsweek.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Ray Romano
\"I read about three scripts, and at the end of each there was a little twist, a little turn, [and] it was funny.\"
Has J.K. Rowling Won the Culture War?
After years of backlash over trans issues, the Harry Potter author has received major business backing
Nothin' Lasts Forever
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour' ends its record-breaking run..
SPY IN THE SKY
CHINA FACES ACCUSATIONS of ESPIONAGE and WEAPONIZING OUTER SPACE as it BUILDS a NEW OBSERVATORY in CHILE critics say WILL BE USED for MILITARY PURPOSES
'This Murder Is a Symbol of the Times'
Conservatives and liberals agree on the state of the health care industry following the killing of Brian Thompson
The Defense Industry's Fight With ESG
EUROPEAN DEFENSE COMPANIES, ESPECIALLY smaller businesses, are being blocked from investment they sorely need by sustainability rules, a senior NATO official and several industry figures have said.
Margo Martindale
Jamie Lee [Curtis, producer] called me and she says, \"Jamie Lee Curtis here. I have a project for you. And you're gonna do it.\"
Malala Yousafzai
\"AFGHANISTAN IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE world where girls are banned from access to education and women are limited from work.\"
In the Eyes of the Law
Jude Law is unrecognizable as an FBI agent on the trail of aneo-Naziterrorist group in real-crime drama The Order
Gonzo Intelligence
Instead of keeping a low profile, Moscow's spies are embracing the limelight and even being welcomed home by Vladimir Putin after their cover is blown
