The director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection notified Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) and WhatsApp about their obligations to protect the privacy of their users in light of Facebook’s proposed acquisition of WhatsApp.In a letter to the two companies, Bureau Director Jessica Rich noted that WhatsApp has made clear privacy promises to consumers, and that both companies have told consumers that after any acquisition, WhatsApp will continue its current privacy practices. “We want to make clear that, regardless of the acquisition, WhatsApp must continue to honor these promises to consumers.
Further, if the acquisition is completed and WhatsApp fails to honor these promises, both companies could be in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act and, potentially, the FTC’s order against Facebook,” the letter states. The letter notes that before making any material changes to how they use data already collected from WhatsApp subscribers, the companies must get affirmative consent. In addition, the letter notes that the companies must not misrepresent the extent to which they maintain the privacy or security of user data. The letter also recommends that consumers be given the opportunity to opt out of any future changes to how newly-collected data is used.
Analysts have a consensus price target of $71.68 on Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) which indicates a 26% upside. The consensus rating of the stock is a BUY with a score of 2.76. There are currently 9 Hold Ratings and 29 Buy ratings on the stock.
The most recent analyst action consisted of Telsey Advisory Group boosting their price target to $82 on March 26th, 2014.
Google, Inc.(NASDAQ:GOOG) is looking to make its Android operating system more secure by running continuous checks on the apps run by all Android devices, Re/code reported yesterday. The new feature will warn users f there are problems with their apps, the website added.
Analysts have a consensus price target of $675 on Google, Inc.(NASDAQ:GOOGL) which indicates a 24.85% upside. The consensus rating of the stock is a BUY with a score of 2.75. There are currently 1 Hold Rating and 3 Buy ratings on the stock.
The most recent analyst action consisted of upgrading the stock from Underperform to Neutral on March 11th, 2014.
On Friday Morgan Stanley upgraded Zynga based on the new FarmVille mobile strategy, expectations for positive bookings growth and valuation.
Analysts have a consensus price target of $4.44 on Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) which indicates a 9% upside. The consensus rating of the stock is a HOLD with a score of 1.94. There are currently 11 Hold Ratings and 2 Buy ratings and 3 Sell ratings on the stock.
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