Shares of Meta (META) are slightly down at the time of writing after the social media giant got hit with a €251 million fine by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC). This fine was for a 2018 Facebook data breach that affected 29 million accounts worldwide, including three million in the Eurozone. The fine follows two DPC investigations into Meta’s Irish unit, which oversees its European operations.
Pick the best stocks and maximize your portfolio:
- Discover top-rated stocks from highly ranked analysts with Analyst Top Stocks!
- Easily identify outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks
The breach stemmed from a glitch in Facebook’s “View As” feature, where users could combine the video uploader tool with the “Happy Birthday Composer” function. This flaw generated user tokens that allowed unauthorized access to full Facebook profiles and enabled attackers to exploit and access multiple accounts.
The compromised data included names, emails, phone numbers, work details, birthdates, and even sensitive information like religion and children’s data. Meta resolved the issue shortly after it was discovered, but the incident raised concerns about platform vulnerabilities and user data security.
Meta Asks to Block OpenAI’s Conversion to a For-Profit Company
Although Meta usually finds itself in the crosshairs of regulators, that is not stopping it from drawing the attention of regulators to other companies. Indeed, Meta recently asked California’s attorney general to stop Microsoft-backed OpenAI (MSFT) from switching to a for-profit company, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The firm argues that it would create a risky precedent where startups could take advantage of nonprofit benefits, like tax breaks, until they are ready to make big profits. Meta said in a letter that if OpenAI’s move is allowed, nonprofit investors would unfairly enjoy the same financial rewards as regular for-profit investors while still getting government tax benefits.
It is also worth noting that Meta has its own generative AI platform, Llama, that competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. If OpenAI becomes a for-profit company, that will allow it to access more funding, grow faster, and compete more effectively in the AI market while offering financial incentives to investors and employees.
Is META Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on META stock based on 40 Buys, three Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 81% rally in its share price over the past year, the average META price target of $666.21 per share implies 7% upside potential.
