Social Media

Investors hit brakes on record-high Facebook

25 Jul 2018

The social network’s stock closed at a new top on Wednesday, valuing it at $630 bln. Then came a sharp after-hours slide following earnings. Fake-news scandals, potential regulation and Mark Zuckerberg’s tin ear all raise big questions. The news feed could get a lot worse.

Facebook and Twitter are lucrative quagmires

24 Jul 2018

Bosses Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey are under fire for allowing misinformation and bullying to flourish on their social networks. Lawmakers and users are beginning to notice, but advertisers have a higher tolerance – and that’s what keeps the swamp bubbling.

Investors bet fake-news swamp is left undrained

17 Jul 2018

U.S. lawmakers grilled Facebook, Alphabet’s YouTube and Twitter about how they filter an ocean of content. Both questions and answers made any plausible bias-free approach seem remote. Yet the companies’ rising stocks suggest confidence that no serious regulation will follow.

Tech backlash grows in Silicon Valley’s back yard

2 Jul 2018

California will force internet companies like Google to give consumers more control over their information and stop it being sold to third parties. The law is narrow but the Golden State is often a litmus test for legislation that takes hold nationwide.

Facebook D.C. probe could open a can of worms

26 Jun 2018

Congress wants to hold the social-media platform accountable for Russian election meddling and other concerns. That could affect a key protection for internet firms, which have broad legal immunity for posted content. Reducing it would expose them to a rash of costly lawsuits.

Facebook is light on Washington friending skills

12 Jun 2018

Its lobbyists tried to do damage control in Congress as its data-sharing with China’s Huawei came to light. Their lack of answers left the impression they weren’t in the loop, and the company’s defensive tweets didn’t help. Facebook could use a lesson in diplomacy as well as transparency.

China hands Facebook its worst political misstep

6 Jun 2018

The social network was already in trouble for Russian election meddling. But its undisclosed data-sharing with Chinese phone maker Huawei will inflame U.S. politicians from both parties. The dalliance makes punishing legislation, and tougher scrutiny from watchdogs, more likely.

Facebook’s top two get a muddled message

5 Jun 2018

Most independent shareholders elected to nix the social network’s super voting rights. Yet they voiced approval for Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. The strong showing for the boss and COO undercuts the argument to scrap the structure that keeps them entrenched.

Review: Mad men struggle in vain to preserve past

1 Jun 2018

A new book examines Madison Avenue’s uneasy relationship with Facebook. Advertising firms are trying to combat the social network’s clout with electronic exchanges and use of data. But author Ken Auletta merely flicks at the obvious: The middlemen don’t have a prayer.

Facebook has a boardroom problem – but what?

17 May 2018

Two proxy advisers offer investors different reasons to withhold votes from mostly different directors – ISS includes Mark Zuckerberg. The CEO has control, so any such move would only be a protest. Through the confusion, though, shines the need to puncture Zuckerberg’s bubble.

Chinese social network loses friends in new way

14 May 2018

Some Renren investors are unhappy about a deal to sell assets to a firm co-controlled by the CEO. The rationale for its low valuation of a stake in online lender SoFi looks thin. An antisocial share structure and Cayman Islands base, however, mean it's probably a losing battle.

A tale of two super-voting stakes – and steaks

3 May 2018

Zynga’s Mark Pincus converted his founder’s stock into regular shares, cutting his vote from 70 pct to 10 pct. Though overdue, it liberates the online-gaming firm. Meanwhile, the owner of Steak n Shake jammed through a dual-class structure – a backward step, as investors showed.

Peppa Pig can survive Chinese censor’s cleaver

3 May 2018

Video-sharing app Douyin chopped the cartoon swine after it appeared in “subversive” videos posted by users. The ban does not directly hurt owner Entertainment One’s revenue. Still, it’s a reminder that even the most innocent media characters can fall out of official favour.

Facebook dating reality may fall short of fears

1 May 2018

News of a matchmaking add-on to the social network tanked the shares of Match and owner IAC on Tuesday. People are spending less time on Facebook and this could persuade some to linger. But they’d have to believe Mark Zuckerberg’s promiscuous data-sharing days are behind him.

Squeezed Facebook is set to squeeze others

1 May 2018

Mark Zuckerberg has touted a new, responsible privacy approach since the Cambridge Analytica mess. Outside developers fear it will dent their business. And users of WhatsApp – whose founder is quitting Facebook – may need reassurance they aren’t the social network’s next product.

Facebook’s future could look like Microsoft’s past

25 Apr 2018

Tumbling valuations and regulatory attacks crushed the shares of Bill Gates’ software juggernaut two decades ago. Mark Zuckerberg’s social network is growing fast. But that’s no reason to assume that Facebook is immune to the same kinds of risks that challenged Microsoft.

Twitter’s international flight may prove fleeting

25 Apr 2018

Strong overseas growth helped the social-media outfit boost sales by 21 pct in the first quarter. As Facebook has shown, it can be relatively easy to find people internationally to use a digital service. Making money on them, however, becomes progressively harder.

Widening net of China censors puts tech on notice

17 Apr 2018

Jokes and gay content are disappearing from the web. It's a fresh sign censors are policing beyond political discourse. For $25 bln microblog Weibo and peers, appeasing both users and regulators will get harder. It will make life tougher for China hopefuls like Facebook, too.

Instagram might want to unfriend Facebook

12 Apr 2018

Mark Zuckerberg snapped up the photo-sharing site for $1 bln in 2012. The savvy purchase could now be worth more than 80 times as much, Breakingviews estimates. But Facebook’s data fiascos are becoming a liability. Setting Instagram free could maximize its value.

Lawmakers’ puzzlement is hazard for Facebook

11 Apr 2018

In Congress, Mark Zuckerberg mostly faced confused questioning about his company’s use of data, not a focused grilling. Rather than a let-off, that’s a risk. When the average politician is baffled by something new but suspects pernicious behavior, regulation may not be far away.