Shares of Facebook Inc fell 3 percent in premarket trading on Thursday as an apology from Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg did little to quell Wall Street nerves about how much a row over user data privacy will cost the company.
Zuckerberg on Wednesday promised tougher steps to restrict developers’ access to user information, his first response to allegations that London-based political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed data to build profiles on American voters and influence the 2016 presidential election.
Analysts from several brokerages expressed relief that there were no signs in Zuckerberg’s status update on the row or in subsequent interviews of a more fundamental shift in the company’s advertising-driven revenue model.
Facebook shares, however, have fallen for two of the last three days, knocking nearly $46 billion off its market value, and some analysts said it was clear the company would have to carry extra costs to shore up its reputation in the months ahead.
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