The social media giant Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) has been slapped with fines for the third time by Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC). This time it is a record fine of 405 million euros ($402 million) against the photo-sharing app Instagram for mishandling child users’ data between the ages of 13 and 17.
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Meta Struck Thrice with Fines
In March of this year, Meta was fined €17 million for its subsidiary Facebook’s failure to prevent a dozen data breaches in 2018. Last year, Meta-owned WhatsApp was slapped with a record €225 million fine for not conforming to the European Union’s data rules in 2018. Notably, Mark Zuckerberg’s company is appealing against the WhatsApp penalty.
Instagram is planning to contest the penalty, which is the largest ever fine imposed on it for breaching the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy law. In fact, it is also the second largest fine ever imposed under EU data laws.
The photo-sharing app updated its data privacy settings in July 2021. It has also introduced new features to enhance the safety of teens and maintain data privacy. These initiatives were undertaken by the company following an investigation that began in 2020 over the publication of children’s data, including their phone numbers and/or email addresses.
Is Meta Stock a Good Buy?
As of now, Metastock looks like a decent investment option. According to Tipranks, analysts look cautious but optimistic about META stock, which has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 27 Buys, five Holds, and two Sells. META stock’s average price target of $224.21 implies a 39.9% upside potential. Shares of the company have lost about 52.6% year-to-date.
Meanwhile, financial bloggers are 87% Bullish on META, compared to the sector average of 64%. As per TipRanks, hedge funds, too, look bullish on the stock, as they increased their holdings in Meta Platforms stock by 3.6 million shares in the last quarter.
Final Thoughts
Meta companies including Facebook and WhatsApp have more than ten investigations open against them by DPC. Further, the latest fine imposed on Instagram accounts for about 1% of Meta’s net income recorded in 2021. Considering the rising regulatory scrutiny and concerns, the social media giant pressed the pause button on its plans to launch the Instagram kids app in the last year.
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