What happened
While Meta Platforms (FB 3.77%) had a positive Friday on the stock market with its share price rising 1.4%, it was outpaced by the S&P 500 index's 2.2% gain. An apparent clampdown on the other side of the world and a disquieting article on the company's virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) efforts made investors hesitant on the stock.
So what
It seems the government of Russia, not at all surprisingly, is planning to restrict access to Meta Platforms' core asset Facebook, according to numerous media reports. It wasn't clear exactly what form such a restriction would take; it did not appear to be a total ban.
Image source: Getty Images.
While it seems clear Russia would like to control news and information as much as possible during the Ukraine invasion, it claims different reasons for its action. According to Roskomnadzor, the national communications industry regulator, the move is being done in reaction to Meta Platforms' aim to label accounts of Russian-owned media businesses. The company insists this will help combat misinformation.
Meanwhile, tech industry site The Information reported that Meta Platforms has dissolved a team of over 300 employees developing VR/AR operating systems. Citing "three people with knowledge of the matter," The Information said that the team was working on a proprietary OS called XROS.
NASDAQ: FB
Key Data Points
Now what
Russia's apparent clampdown is to be expected. What was more surprising was the alleged dissolution of the VR/AR operating-system team. Last month, rumors swirled that Meta Platforms had curtailed plans to develop its own OS in favor of VROS, an existing Android-based system, but these were quashed by the company.
If The Information's article is accurate, it's hard to gauge whether the breakup of the OS team is a positive or negative for the social-media giant. On one hand, controlling -- and perhaps licensing -- a robust OS could make the company a major power in the VR/AR world. On the other, a big team of 300 or so developers is hardly cheap. Perhaps the company felt the cost and effort just wasn't worthwhile.
