Meta Platforms, Inc.

Previous wording

The size of our active user base and our users' level of engagement across our products are critical to our success. Our financial performance has been and will continue to be significantly determined by our success in adding, retaining, and engaging active users of our products that deliver ad impressions, particularly for Facebook and Instagram. We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, fluctuations and declines in the size of our active user base in one or more markets from time to time, particularly in markets where we have achieved higher penetration rates. User growth and engagement are also impacted by a number of other factors, including competitive products and services, such as TikTok, that have reduced some users' engagement with our products and services, as well as global and regional business, macroeconomic, and geopolitical conditions. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic led to increases and decreases in the size and engagement of our active user base from period to period at different points during the pandemic. In addition, in connection with the war in Ukraine, access to Facebook and Instagram was restricted in Russia and these services were then prohibited by the Russian government, which contributed to slight decreases in the size of our active user base following the onset of the war. Any future declines in the size of our active user base may adversely impact our ability to deliver ad impressions and, in turn, our financial performance.

Current wording

The size of our active user base and our users' level of engagement across our products are critical to our success. Our financial performance has been and will continue to be significantly determined by our success in adding, retaining, and engaging active users of our products that deliver ad impressions, particularly for Facebook and Instagram. We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, fluctuations and declines in the size of our active user base in one or more markets from time to time, particularly in markets where we have achieved higher penetration rates. User growth and engagement are also impacted by a number of other factors, including competitive products and services, such as TikTok, that have reduced some users' engagement with our products and services, as well as global and regional business, macroeconomic, and geopolitical conditions. For example, in the first quarter of 2026, we experienced a slight decline on a quarter-over-quarter basis in the total number of Family daily active people that was driven by internet disruptions in Iran, as well as a restriction on access to WhatsApp in Russia. Any future declines in the size of our active user base may adversely impact our ability to deliver ad impressions and, in turn, our financial performance.

Previous wording

•there is decreased engagement with our products, decreased efficiency of our advertising products, or failure to accept our terms of service, as part of changes that we have implemented or may implement in the future, whether voluntarily, in connection with the GDPR, the European Union's ePrivacy Directive, the DMA, the DSA, the DMCC, U.S. state privacy laws including the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA), youth social media laws, or other laws, regulations, or regulatory actions, or otherwise;

Current wording

•there is decreased engagement with our products, decreased efficiency of our advertising products, or failure to accept our terms of service, as part of changes that we have implemented or may implement in the future, whether voluntarily, in connection with the GDPR, the European Union's ePrivacy Directive, the DMA, the DSA, the DMCC, U.S. state privacy laws, youth social media laws, or other laws, regulations, or regulatory actions, or otherwise;

Previous wording

•there is decreased engagement with our products as a result of taxes imposed on the use of social media or other mobile applications in certain countries, internet shutdowns, or other actions by governments that affect the accessibility of our products in their countries (for example, beginning in the first quarter of 2022, our user growth and engagement were adversely affected by the war in Ukraine and service restrictions imposed by the Russian government);

Current wording

•there is decreased engagement with our products as a result of taxes imposed on the use of social media or other mobile applications in certain countries, internet shutdowns, or other actions by governments that affect the accessibility of our products in their countries (for example, beginning in 2022, our user growth and engagement were adversely affected by the war in Ukraine and service restrictions imposed by the Russian government);

Previous wording

•the effectiveness of our ad targeting or degree to which users consent to, opt out of, or reduce the use of data for ads, including as a result of product changes and controls that we have implemented or may implement in the future in connection with the GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, DMA, DMCC, U.S. state privacy laws including the CCPA, and other laws, regulations, regulatory actions, or litigation, or otherwise, that impact our ability to use data for advertising purposes (for example, in response to regulatory developments in Europe, we began offering our users a "subscription for no ads" alternative in the European Union, European Economic Area, and Switzerland, and subsequently in November 2024 provided users in those regions who elect to continue receiving our services free-of-charge, supported by ads, an option to see less personalized ads);

Current wording

•the effectiveness of our ad targeting or degree to which users consent to, opt out of, or reduce the use of data for ads, including as a result of product changes and controls that we have implemented or may implement in the future in connection with the GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, DMA, DMCC, U.S. state privacy laws, and other laws, regulations, regulatory actions, or litigation, or otherwise, that impact our ability to use data for advertising purposes (for example, in response to regulatory developments in Europe, we began offering our users a "subscription for no ads" alternative in the European Union, European Economic Area, and Switzerland, and subsequently in November 2024 provided users in those regions who elect to continue receiving our services free-of-charge, supported by ads, an option to see less personalized ads);

Previous wording

•the impact of macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions, whether in the advertising industry in general, or among specific types of marketers or within particular geographies, which in turn can have broader effects in other regions (for example, the war in Ukraine and service restrictions imposed by the Russian government have adversely affected our advertising business in Europe and other regions, and advertiser spending also is subject to adverse effects from conflicts in the Middle East and the implementation of tariffs or other existing or future trade policies by the United States, China, and other governments).

Current wording

•the impact of macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions, whether in the advertising industry in general, or among specific types of marketers or within particular geographies, which in turn can have broader effects in other regions (for example, our advertising business has been adversely affected by the war in Ukraine and service restrictions imposed by the Russian government, as well as conflicts in the Middle East, and advertiser spending also is subject to adverse effects from the implementation of tariffs or other existing or future trade policies by the United States, China, and other governments).

Previous wording

Our ad targeting and measurement tools rely on data signals from user activity on websites and services that we do not control, as well as signals generated within our products, in order to deliver relevant and effective ads to our users, and any changes in our ability to use such signals will adversely affect our business. For example, legislative and regulatory developments, such as the GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, DMA, and U.S. state privacy laws, including the CCPA, have impacted, and we expect will continue to impact, our ability to use such signals in our ad products. In particular, we have seen increases in the number of users opting to control certain types of ad targeting in Europe following product changes implemented in connection with our GDPR and ePrivacy Directive compliance, and we have introduced product changes that limit data signal use for certain users in California following adoption of the CCPA. A number of U.S. state privacy laws, including those in Colorado, Oregon, and Texas, have introduced additional rights for users and could result in restrictions on our use of signals from third-party apps and websites through certain browser- and device-based universal opt-out mechanisms. Judicial and regulatory guidance, decisions, or enforcement actions, or new legislation in these or other jurisdictions may require us to make additional changes to our products in the future that further reduce our ability to use these signals, which has occurred in the past. For example, in response to regulatory developments in Europe, we announced plans to change the legal basis for behavioral advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the European Union, European Economic Area, and Switzerland from "legitimate interests" to "consent," and in November 2023 we began offering users in the region a "subscription for no ads" alternative. We are engaging with regulators on our consent model, including regarding compliance with requirements under the GDPR, DMA, and EU consumer laws. For example, in March 2024, the European Commission opened formal proceedings regarding the compliance of our "subscription for no ads" model with requirements under the DMA, and it issued preliminary findings in July 2024. In addition, the European Data Protection Board has published an opinion on the operation of such models under GDPR and European consumer protection organizations have raised concerns regarding our compliance with consumer protection laws. In response to these developments, in November 2024, we began offering users in the European Union, European Economic Area, and Switzerland who elect to continue using our services free-of-charge, supported by ads, an option to see less personalized ads (LPA), which are less relevant and effective than our premium ad offerings. In April 2025, the European Commission issued a final decision that our "subscription for no ads" model does not comply with such requirements. We made significant modifications to LPA since the Eu…

Excerpt shortened here; the source contains the full paragraph.

Current wording

Our ad targeting and measurement tools rely on data signals from user activity on websites and services that we do not control, as well as signals generated within our products, in order to deliver relevant and effective ads to our users, and any changes in our ability to use such signals will adversely affect our business. For example, legislative and regulatory developments, such as the GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, DMA, and U.S. state privacy laws, have impacted, and we expect will continue to impact, our ability to use such signals in our ad products. In particular, we have seen increases in the number of users opting to control certain types of ad targeting in Europe following product changes implemented in connection with our GDPR and ePrivacy Directive compliance, and we have introduced product changes that limit data signal use for users in certain U.S. states following adoption of state privacy laws. A number of U.S. state privacy laws have introduced additional rights for users and could result in restrictions on our use of signals from third-party apps and websites through certain browser- and device-based universal opt-out mechanisms. Judicial and regulatory guidance, decisions, or enforcement actions, or new legislation in these or other jurisdictions may require us to make additional changes to our products in the future that further reduce our ability to use these signals, which has occurred in the past. For example, in response to regulatory developments in Europe, we announced plans to change the legal basis for behavioral advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the European Union, European Economic Area, and Switzerland from "legitimate interests" to "consent," and in November 2023 we began offering users in the region a "subscription for no ads" alternative. We are engaging with regulators on our consent model, including regarding compliance with requirements under the GDPR, DMA, and EU consumer laws. For example, in March 2024, the European Commission opened formal proceedings regarding the compliance of our "subscription for no ads" model with requirements under the DMA, and it issued preliminary findings in July 2024. In addition, the European Data Protection Board has published an opinion on the operation of such models under GDPR and European consumer protection organizations have raised concerns regarding our compliance with consumer protection laws. In response to these developments, in November 2024, we began offering users in the European Union, European Economic Area, and Switzerland who elect to continue using our services free-of-charge, supported by ads, an option to see less personalized ads (LPA), which are less relevant and effective than our premium ad offerings. In April 2025, the European Commission issued a final decision that our "subscription for no ads" model does not comply with such requirements. We made significant modifications to LPA since the European Commission issued its final decision. We have appea…

Excerpt shortened here; the source contains the full paragraph.

Previous wording

Our ability to retain, increase, and engage our user base and to increase our revenue depends heavily on our ability to continue to evolve our existing products and to create successful new products, both independently and in conjunction with developers or other third parties. We may introduce significant changes to our existing products or acquire or introduce new and unproven products, including using technologies with which we have little or no prior development or operating experience. For example, we have relatively limited experience with consumer hardware products and virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technology, which may adversely affect our ability to successfully develop and market these evolving products and technologies. We are also making significant investments in artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives across our business. For example, we continue to launch new AI features on our products, including support for new modalities, conversational AIs, AI profiles, stickers, photos, videos, and editing tools. We continue to incur substantial costs, and we may not be successful in generating profits, in connection with these efforts.

Current wording

Our ability to retain, increase, and engage our user base and to increase our revenue depends heavily on our ability to continue to evolve our existing products and to create successful new products, both independently and in conjunction with developers or other third parties. We may introduce significant changes to our existing products or acquire or introduce new and unproven products, including using technologies with which we have little or no prior development or operating experience. For example, we have relatively limited experience with consumer hardware products and virtual and augmented reality technology, which may adversely affect our ability to successfully develop and market these evolving products and technologies. We are also making significant investments in artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives across our business. For example, we continue to launch new AI features on our products, including support for new modalities, conversational AIs, AI profiles, stickers, photos, videos, and editing tools. We continue to incur substantial costs, and we may not be successful in generating profits, in connection with these efforts.

Previous wording

We have made significant investments in AI initiatives, including generative AI and superintelligence, to, among other things, recommend relevant content across our products, enhance our advertising tools, develop new products, and develop new features for existing products, and expect to continue to increase these investments. In particular, we expect our AI initiatives will require increased investment in infrastructure and headcount. If our investments are not successful longer-term, our business and financial performance could be harmed.

Current wording

We have made significant investments in AI initiatives, including generative AI and superintelligence, to, among other things, recommend relevant content across our products, enhance our advertising tools, develop new products, and develop new features for existing products, and expect to continue to increase these investments. In particular, we have significantly increased our infrastructure investments in connection with our AI initiatives, and expect our investments to continue to increase. If our investments are not successful longer-term, our business and financial performance could be harmed.

Previous wording

There are significant risks involved in developing and deploying AI and there can be no assurance that the usage of AI will enhance our products or services or be beneficial to our business, including our efficiency or profitability. For example, our AI-related efforts, particularly those related to generative AI and superintelligence, subject us to risks related to harmful or illegal content, accuracy, misinformation and deepfakes (including related to elections), bias, discrimination, toxicity, consumer protection, products liability, intellectual property infringement or misappropriation, defamation, data privacy, cybersecurity, and sanctions and export controls, among others. It is also uncertain how various laws related to online services, intermediary liability, and other issues will apply to content generated by AI. In addition, we are subject to the risks of new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, litigation, or other legal liability, ethical concerns, negative consumer perceptions as to automation and AI, activities that threaten people's safety or well-being on- or offline, including with respect to younger users, or other complications that could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results. For example, we have been the subject of media and government scrutiny relating to AI and AI chatbots, including inquiries and investigations by the FTC, members of Congress and state attorneys general.

Current wording

There are significant risks involved in developing and deploying AI and there can be no assurance that the usage of AI will enhance our products or services or be beneficial to our business, including our efficiency or profitability. For example, our AI-related efforts, particularly those related to generative AI and superintelligence, subject us to risks related to harmful or illegal content, accuracy, misinformation and deepfakes (including related to elections), bias, discrimination, toxicity, consumer protection, products liability, intellectual property infringement or misappropriation, defamation, data privacy, cybersecurity, and sanctions and export controls, among others. It is also uncertain how various laws related to online services, intermediary liability, and other issues will apply to content generated by AI. In addition, we are subject to the risks of new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny and enforcement, litigation, or other legal liability, ethical concerns, negative consumer perceptions as to automation and AI, activities that threaten people's safety or well-being on- or offline, including with respect to younger users, or other societal harms or complications that could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results. For example, we have been the subject of media and government scrutiny relating to AI and AI chatbots, including inquiries and investigations by the FTC, members of Congress and state attorneys general.

Previous wording

Further, we face significant competition from other companies that are developing their own AI features and technologies, including competition from AI features and technologies that may be similar or superior to our technologies or more cost-effective to develop and deploy, or that otherwise achieve more timely or successful market acceptance. Given the long history of development in the AI sector, other parties may have (or in the future may obtain) patents or other proprietary rights that would prevent, limit, or interfere with our ability to make, use, or sell our own AI features. Our AI initiatives also depend on our access to data to effectively train our models. Further, our ability to continue to develop and effectively deploy AI technologies is dependent on access to specific third-party equipment, technology, and other technical and physical infrastructure, such as processing hardware, network capacity, models, computing power, and related energy requirements, as to which we cannot control the availability or pricing, especially in a highly competitive environment.

Current wording

Further, we face significant competition from other companies that are developing their own AI features and technologies, including competition from AI features and technologies that may be similar or superior to our technologies or more cost-effective to develop and deploy, or that otherwise achieve more timely or successful market acceptance. Given the long history of development in the AI sector, other parties may have (or in the future may obtain) patents or other proprietary rights that would prevent, limit, or interfere with our ability to make, use, or sell our own AI features. Our AI initiatives also depend on our access to data to effectively train our models, which is subject to risks related to the availability or costs of data, regulatory or other legal developments, or other factors, as well as our ability to attract and retain specialized personnel in a limited and competitive talent market. Further, our ability to continue to develop and effectively deploy AI technologies is dependent on access to specific third-party equipment, technology, and other technical and physical infrastructure, such as processing hardware, network capacity, models, computing power, and related energy requirements, as to which we cannot control the availability or pricing, especially in a highly competitive environment.

Previous wording

We are also developing AI technology that we make available via open source, commercial, and non-commercial license agreements to third-parties that can use this technology for use in their own products and services. We may not have insight into, or control over, the practices of third parties who may utilize such AI technologies. As such, we cannot guarantee that third parties will not use such AI technologies for improper purposes, including through the dissemination of illegal, inaccurate, defamatory or harmful content, intellectual property infringement or misappropriation, furthering bias or discrimination, cybersecurity attacks including spear phishing attacks, data privacy violations, other activities that threaten people's safety or well-being on- or offline, or to develop competing technologies. While we may mitigate certain risks associated with the improper use of our AI models through both technical measures and the inclusion of contractual restrictions on third-party use in any agreement between us and any third party, we cannot guarantee that such measures will be effective. Such improper use by any third party could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results or subject us to legal liability.

Current wording

We are also developing AI technology that we make available via open source, commercial, and non-commercial license agreements to third-parties that can use this technology for use in their own products and services. We may not have insight into, or control over, the practices of third parties who may utilize such AI technologies. As such, we cannot guarantee that third parties will not use such AI technologies for improper purposes, including through the dissemination of illegal, inaccurate, defamatory or harmful content, intellectual property infringement or misappropriation, furthering bias or discrimination, cybersecurity attacks including spear phishing attacks, data privacy violations, other societal harms, including activities that threaten people's safety or well-being on- or offline, or to develop competing technologies. While we may mitigate certain risks associated with the improper use of our AI models through both technical measures and the inclusion of contractual restrictions on third-party use in any agreement between us and any third party, we cannot guarantee that such measures will be effective. Such improper use by any third party could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results or subject us to legal liability.

Previous wording

Our Reality Labs efforts include our metaverse and wearables initiatives. We believe the metaverse, an embodied internet where people have immersive experiences beyond two-dimensional screens, is the next evolution in social technology. In 2021, we announced a shift in our business and product strategy to focus on helping to bring the metaverse to life, and we are directing our efforts toward innovations in AI, wearables, and devices to help build next-generation interfaces. We expect this will be a complex, evolving, and long-term initiative that will involve the development of new and emerging technologies, continued investment in infrastructure as well as privacy, safety, and security efforts, and collaboration with other companies, developers, partners, and other participants. However, the metaverse may not develop in accordance with our expectations, and market acceptance of features, products, or services we build is uncertain. We regularly evaluate our product roadmaps and make significant changes as our understanding of the technological challenges and market landscape and our product ideas and designs evolve. In addition, we have relatively limited experience with consumer hardware products and virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technology, which may enable other companies to compete more effectively than us. We may be unsuccessful in our research and product development efforts, including if we are unable to develop relationships with key participants in the metaverse or develop products that operate effectively with metaverse technologies, products, systems, networks, or standards. For example, some of our consumer hardware products depend on the ability to operate with third-party mobile platforms and these platforms do not necessarily provide our products with the same levels of interoperability that they provide to their own competing products. In addition, our Reality Labs efforts may also divert resources and management attention from other areas of our business. We expect to continue to make significant investments in virtual, augmented, and mixed reality and other technologies to support these efforts, and our ability to support these efforts is dependent on generating sufficient profits from other areas of our business. In addition, as our Reality Labs efforts evolve, we may be subject to a variety of existing or new laws and regulations in the United States and international jurisdictions, including in the areas of privacy, safety, AI, competition, content regulation, tariffs, export controls, consumer protection, and e-commerce, which may delay or impede the development of our products and services, increase our operating costs, require significant management time and attention, or otherwise harm our business. As a result of these or other factors, our Reality Labs strategy and investments may not be successful in the foreseeable future, or at all, which could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results…

Excerpt shortened here; the source contains the full paragraph.

Current wording

We believe the metaverse, an embodied internet where people have immersive experiences beyond two-dimensional screens, is the next evolution in social technology. In 2021, we announced a shift in our business and product strategy to focus on helping to bring the metaverse to life, and we are directing our efforts toward innovations in AI, wearables, and devices to help build next-generation interfaces. We expect this will be a complex, evolving, and long-term initiative that will involve the development of new and emerging technologies, continued investment in infrastructure as well as privacy, safety, and security efforts, and collaboration with other companies, developers, partners, and other participants. However, the metaverse may not develop in accordance with our expectations, and market acceptance of features, products, or services we build is uncertain. We regularly evaluate our product roadmaps and make significant changes as our understanding of the technological challenges and market landscape and our product ideas and designs evolve. In addition, we have relatively limited experience with consumer hardware products and virtual and augmented reality technology, which may enable other companies to compete more effectively than us. We may be unsuccessful in our research and product development efforts, including if we are unable to develop relationships with key participants in the metaverse or develop products that operate effectively with metaverse technologies, products, systems, networks, or standards. For example, some of our consumer hardware products depend on the ability to operate with third-party mobile platforms and these platforms do not necessarily provide our products with the same levels of interoperability that they provide to their own competing products. In addition, our Reality Labs efforts may also divert resources and management attention from other areas of our business. We expect to continue to make significant investments in virtual and augmented reality and other technologies to support these efforts, and our ability to support these efforts is dependent on generating sufficient profits from other areas of our business. In addition, as our Reality Labs efforts evolve, we may be subject to a variety of existing or new laws and regulations in the United States and international jurisdictions, including in the areas of privacy, safety, AI, competition, content regulation, medical devices, tariffs, export controls, consumer protection, and e-commerce, which may delay or impede the development of our products and services, increase our operating costs, require significant management time and attention, or otherwise harm our business. As a result of these or other factors, our Reality Labs strategy and investments may not be successful in the foreseeable future, or at all, which could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results.

Previous wording

Maintaining and enhancing our brands will require us to make substantial investments and these investments may not be successful. Certain of our actions, such as the foregoing matter regarding developer misuse of data and concerns around our handling of political speech and advertising, hate speech, and other content, as well as user well-being issues, have eroded confidence in our brands and may continue to do so in the future. If we fail to successfully promote and maintain our brands or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business and financial results may be adversely affected.

Current wording

Maintaining and enhancing our brands will require us to make substantial investments and these investments may not be successful. Certain of our actions, such as the foregoing matter regarding developer misuse of data and concerns around our handling of political speech, hate speech, and other content, advertising, and deceptive activity on our platform, as well as user well-being issues, have eroded confidence in our brands and may continue to do so in the future. If we fail to successfully promote and maintain our brands or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business and financial results may be adversely affected.

Previous wording

We may not be able to continue to successfully maintain or grow usage of and engagement with applications that integrate with our products.

Current wording

We may not be able to continue to successfully maintain or grow engaging third-party content on our platform or usage of and engagement with applications that integrate with our products.

Previous wording

We have made and are continuing to make investments to enable developers to build, grow, and monetize applications that integrate with our products. Such existing and prospective developers may not be successful in building, growing, or monetizing applications that create and maintain user engagement. Additionally, developers may choose to build on other platforms, including platforms controlled by third parties, rather than building products that integrate with our products. We are continuously seeking to balance the distribution objectives of our developers with our desire to provide an optimal user experience, and we may not be successful in achieving a balance that continues to attract and retain such developers. For example, from time to time, we have taken actions to reduce the volume of communications from these developers to users on our products with the objective of enhancing the user experience, and such actions have reduced distribution from, user engagement with, and our monetization opportunities from, applications integrated with our products. In addition, as part of our efforts related to privacy, safety, and security, we conduct investigations and audits of platform applications from time to time, and we also have announced several product changes that restrict developer access to certain user data. In some instances, these actions, as well as other actions to enforce our policies applicable to developers, have adversely affected, or will adversely affect, our relationships with developers. If we are not successful in our efforts to maintain or grow the number of developers that choose to build products that integrate with our products or if we are unable to continue to build and maintain good relations with such developers, our user growth and user engagement and our financial results may be adversely affected.

Current wording

We have made and are continuing to make investments to enable creators to contribute engaging third-party content to our platform and developers to build, grow, and monetize applications that integrate with our products. From time to time we make product changes and offer tools to promote creative content on our platform, but we may not be successful in obtaining or attracting engaging third-party content. In addition, existing and prospective developers may not be successful in building, growing, or monetizing applications that create and maintain user engagement. Developers may also choose to build on other platforms, including platforms controlled by third parties, rather than building products that integrate with our products. We are continuously seeking to balance the distribution objectives of our developers with our desire to provide an optimal user experience, and we may not be successful in achieving a balance that continues to attract and retain such developers. For example, from time to time, we have taken actions to reduce the volume of communications from these developers to users on our products with the objective of enhancing the user experience, and such actions have reduced distribution from, user engagement with, and our monetization opportunities from, applications integrated with our products. In addition, as part of our efforts related to privacy, safety, and security, we conduct investigations and audits of platform applications from time to time, and we also have announced several product changes that restrict developer access to certain user data. In some instances, these actions, as well as other actions to enforce our policies applicable to developers, have adversely affected, or will adversely affect, our relationships with developers. If we are not successful in our efforts to maintain or grow engaging third-party content on our platform or the number of developers that choose to build products that integrate with our products, or if we are unable to continue to build and maintain good relations with such developers, our user growth and user engagement and our financial results may be adversely affected.

Previous wording

We compete with companies providing connection, sharing, discovery, and communication products and services to users online, as well as companies that sell advertising to businesses looking to reach consumers and/or develop tools and systems for managing and optimizing advertising campaigns. We face significant competition in every aspect of our business, including, but not limited to, companies that facilitate the ability of users to create, share, communicate, and discover content and information online or enable marketers to reach their existing or prospective audiences. We compete to attract, engage, and retain people who use our products, to attract and retain businesses that use our free or paid business and advertising services, and to attract and retain developers who build compelling applications that integrate with our products. We also compete with companies that develop and deliver consumer hardware and augmented, mixed, and virtual reality products and services. We also expect to face additional competition as we introduce or acquire new products, as our existing products evolve, or as other companies introduce new products and services, including as part of efforts to innovate through the development and application of AI and other new technologies, as well as efforts to develop the metaverse.

Current wording

We compete with companies providing connection, sharing, discovery, and communication products and services to users online, as well as companies that sell advertising to businesses looking to reach consumers and/or develop tools and systems for managing and optimizing advertising campaigns. We face significant competition in every aspect of our business, including, but not limited to, companies that facilitate the ability of users to create, share, communicate, and discover content and information online or enable marketers to reach their existing or prospective audiences. We compete to attract, engage, and retain people who use our products, to attract and retain businesses that use our free or paid business and advertising services, and to attract and retain developers who build compelling applications that integrate with our products. We also compete with companies in the development and application of AI, particularly with respect to the development of frontier AI models, as well as the development and delivery of consumer hardware and augmented and virtual reality products and services. We also expect to face additional competition as we introduce or acquire new products, as our existing products evolve, or as other companies introduce new products and services, including as part of efforts to innovate through the development and application of AI and other new technologies, as well as efforts to develop the metaverse.

Previous wording

•our ability to establish and maintain publisher interest in integrating their content with our products;

Current wording

•our ability to establish and maintain creator and publisher interest in integrating their content with our products;

Previous wording

We receive a high degree of media coverage around the world. Our reputation has been, and could in the future be, adversely affected by unfavorable publicity regarding, for example, our privacy practices, advertising policies, product decisions, product quality, litigation or regulatory activity, government surveillance, the actions of our advertisers, the actions of our developers whose products are integrated with our products, the use of our products or services for illicit or objectionable ends, the substance or enforcement of our community standards, terms of service, or other policies, the actions of our users, the quality and integrity of content shared on our platform, the perceived or actual impacts of our products or services on user well-being, including for younger users, our management, or the actions of other companies that provide similar services to ours. For example, we have been the subject of significant media coverage involving concerns around our handling of political speech and advertising, hate speech, and other content, as well as user well-being issues, and we continue to receive negative publicity related to these topics. Beginning in September 2021, we became the subject of significant media coverage as a result of allegations and the release of internal company documents by a former employee. In addition, we have been, and may in the future be, subject to negative publicity in connection with our handling of misinformation and other illicit or objectionable use of our products or services, including in connection with geopolitical events and elections in the United States and around the world. We have also been, and expect to continue to be, subject to media coverage in connection with litigation matters. Any such negative publicity could have an adverse effect on the size, engagement, and loyalty of our user base and marketer demand for advertising on our products, which could result in decreased revenue and adversely affect our business and financial results, and we have experienced such adverse effects to varying degrees from time to time.

Current wording

We receive a high degree of media coverage around the world. Our reputation has been, and could in the future be, adversely affected by unfavorable publicity regarding, for example, our privacy practices, advertising policies, product decisions, product quality, litigation or regulatory activity, government surveillance, the actions of our advertisers, the actions of our developers whose products are integrated with our products, the use of our products or services for illicit or objectionable ends, the substance or enforcement of our community standards, terms of service, or other policies, the actions of our users, the quality and integrity of content shared on our platform, the perceived or actual impacts of our products or services on user well-being, including for younger users, our management, or the actions of other companies that provide similar services to ours. For example, we have been the subject of significant media coverage involving concerns around our handling of political speech, hate speech, and other content, advertising, and deceptive activity on our platform, as well as user well-being issues, and we continue to receive negative publicity related to these topics. Beginning in September 2021, we became the subject of significant media coverage as a result of allegations and the release of internal company documents by a former employee. In addition, we have been, and may in the future be, subject to negative publicity in connection with our handling of misinformation and other illicit or objectionable use of our products or services, including in connection with geopolitical events and elections in the United States and around the world. We have also been, and expect to continue to be, subject to media coverage in connection with litigation matters. For example, juries have returned liability verdicts against us in two trials in our U.S. youth-related litigation matters, and additional bellwether trials are scheduled for 2026 and beyond. Any such negative publicity could have an adverse effect on the size, engagement, and loyalty of our user base and marketer demand for advertising on our products, which could result in decreased revenue and adversely affect our business and financial results, and we have experienced such adverse effects to varying degrees from time to time.

Previous wording

We are subject to the risk of public health crises such as pandemics, earthquakes, adverse weather conditions, other natural disasters, terrorism, geopolitical conflict, other physical security threats, power loss, cyber-attacks, and other catastrophic events and crises. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic previously significantly impacted our business and results of operations. In particular, the pandemic led to volatility in the demand for and pricing of our advertising services at various points throughout the pandemic, and we may experience similar effects in the future as a result of the pandemic or other catastrophic events. Such events also expose our business, operations, and workforce to a variety of other risks, including: volatility in the size of our user base and user engagement; delays in product development or releases, or reductions in manufacturing production and sales of consumer hardware, as a result of inventory shortages, supply chain or labor shortages; significant volatility and disruption of global financial markets, which could cause fluctuations in currency exchange rates or negatively impact our ability to access capital in the future; illnesses to key employees, or a significant portion of our workforce, which may result in inefficiencies, delays, and disruptions in our business; and increased volatility and uncertainty in the financial projections we use as the basis for estimates used in our financial statements. Any of these developments may adversely affect our business, harm our reputation, or result in legal or regulatory actions against us.

Current wording

We are subject to the risk of public health crises such as pandemics, earthquakes, adverse weather conditions, other natural disasters, terrorism, geopolitical conflict, other physical security threats, power loss, cyber-attacks, and other catastrophic events and crises. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic previously significantly impacted our business and results of operations. In particular, the pandemic led to volatility in the demand for and pricing of our advertising services at various points throughout the pandemic, and we may experience similar effects in the future as a result of other catastrophic events. Such events also expose our business, operations, and workforce to a variety of other risks, including: volatility in the size of our user base and user engagement; delays in product development or releases, or reductions in manufacturing production and sales of consumer hardware, as a result of inventory shortages, supply chain or labor shortages; significant volatility and disruption of global financial markets, which could cause fluctuations in currency exchange rates or negatively impact our ability to access capital in the future; illnesses to key employees, or a significant portion of our workforce, which may result in inefficiencies, delays, and disruptions in our business; and increased volatility and uncertainty in the financial projections we use as the basis for estimates used in our financial statements. Any of these developments may adversely affect our business, harm our reputation, or result in legal or regulatory actions against us.

Previous wording

We incur significant expenses in operating our business, and some of our investments, particularly our investments in our artificial intelligence initiatives as well as Reality Labs, have the effect of reducing our operating margin and profitability. If our investments are not successful longer-term, our business and financial performance will be harmed.

Current wording

We incur significant expenses in operating our business, and some of our investments, particularly our investments in our artificial intelligence initiatives as well as Reality Labs, have the effect of reducing our cash flows, operating margin and profitability. If our investments are not successful longer-term, our business and financial performance will be harmed.

Previous wording

We incur significant expenses in operating our business, and we expect our expenses to continue to increase in the future as we broaden our user base, as users increase the amount and types of content they consume and the data they share with us, for example with respect to video, as we develop and implement new products, as we market new and existing products and promote our brands, as we continue to expand our technical infrastructure, as we continue to invest in new and unproven technologies, including AI and machine learning, and as we continue our efforts to focus on privacy, safety, security, and content and advertising review and enforcement. We have previously undertaken cost reduction measures in light of a more challenging operating environment, which may adversely affect these or other business initiatives, and some of these measures have involved, and may in the future involve, up-front charges and outlays of cash to reduce certain longer-term expenses. In addition, from time to time we are subject to settlements, judgments, fines, or other monetary penalties in connection with legal and regulatory developments that may be material to our business.

Current wording

We incur significant expenses in operating our business, and we expect our expenses to continue to increase in the future as we continue to invest in new and unproven technologies, including AI and machine learning, as we broaden our user base, as users increase the amount and types of content they consume and the data they share with us, for example with respect to video, as we develop and implement new products, as we market new and existing products and promote our brands, as we continue to expand our technical infrastructure, and as we continue our efforts to focus on privacy, safety, security, and content and advertising review and enforcement. We have previously undertaken cost reduction measures in light of a more challenging operating environment, which may adversely affect these or other business initiatives, and some of these measures have involved, and may in the future involve, up-front charges and outlays of cash to reduce certain longer-term expenses. In addition, from time to time we are subject to settlements, judgments, fines, or other monetary penalties in connection with legal and regulatory developments that may be material to our business.

Previous wording

We have made significant investments in AI initiatives, including investments in infrastructure and headcount, including specialized technical personnel, to support our efforts to enhance our products, features, and advertising tools, as well as to develop and train our AI models, and expect to continue to increase these investments. We are also continuing to increase our investments in new platforms and technologies, including as part of our metaverse and wearables efforts. Some of these investments, particularly our significant investments in Reality Labs, have generated only limited revenue and reduced our operating margin and profitability, and we expect the adverse financial impact of such investments to continue for the foreseeable future. For example, our investments in Reality Labs reduced our 2024 overall operating profit by approximately $17.73 billion, and we expect our Reality Labs investments and operating losses to increase in 2025. If our investments are not successful longer-term, our business and financial performance will be harmed.

Current wording

We have made significant investments in AI initiatives, including investments in infrastructure and headcount, including specialized technical personnel, to support our efforts to enhance our products, features, and advertising tools, as well as to develop and train our AI models, and expect to continue to increase these investments. We are also continuing to increase our investments in new platforms and technologies, including as part of our VR, Horizon, and wearables efforts. Some of these investments have generated only limited revenue and reduced our cash flows, operating margin, and profitability, and we expect the adverse financial impact of such investments to continue for the foreseeable future. For example, our investments in Reality Labs reduced our 2025 overall operating profit by approximately $19.19 billion, and we expect our full-year 2026 Reality Labs operating losses to remain similar to 2025. If our investments are not successful longer-term, our business and financial performance will be harmed.

Previous wording

Our business is dependent on our ability to maintain and scale our technical infrastructure, and any significant disruption in our products and services could damage our reputation, result in a potential loss of users and engagement, and adversely affect our financial results.

Current wording

Our business is dependent on our ability to maintain and scale our technical infrastructure. Any significant disruption in our products and services or other adverse developments relating to our technical infrastructure could damage our reputation, result in a potential loss of users and engagement, and adversely affect our business and financial results.

Previous wording

Our reputation and ability to attract, retain, and serve our users is dependent upon the reliable performance of our products and services and our underlying technical infrastructure. We have experienced, and may in the future experience, interruptions in the availability or performance of our products and services from time to time. Our systems may not be adequately designed or may not operate with the reliability and redundancy necessary to avoid performance delays or outages that could be harmful to our business. If our products or services are unavailable when users attempt to access them, or if they do not load as quickly as expected, users may not use our products or services as often in the future, or at all, and our ability to serve ads may be disrupted, any of which could adversely affect our business and financial performance. We have experienced such issues to varying degrees from time to time. In addition, as the amount and types of information shared on our products continue to grow and evolve, as the usage patterns of our global community continue to evolve, and as our internal operational demands continue to grow, especially with the deployment of AI technologies, we will need an increasing amount of technical infrastructure, including network capacity, computing power, and related energy requirements, to continue to satisfy our needs. Although we are making significant investments in our technical infrastructure, it is possible that we may fail to continue to effectively scale and grow our technical infrastructure to accommodate these increased demands or achieve our business objectives, which may adversely affect our user engagement and advertising revenue. In addition, our business may be subject to interruptions, delays, or failures resulting from earthquakes, adverse weather conditions, other natural disasters, power loss, terrorism, geopolitical conflict, other physical security threats, cyber-attacks, or other catastrophic events and crises. Global climate change could result in certain types of natural disasters occurring more frequently or with more intense effects. Any such events may result in users being subject to service disruptions or outages and we may not be able to recover our technical infrastructure and user data in a timely manner to restart or provide our services, which may adversely affect our financial results. We also have been, and may in the future be, subject to increased energy and/or other costs to maintain the availability or performance of our products and services in connection with any such events.

Current wording

Our reputation and ability to attract, retain, and serve our users is dependent upon the reliable performance of our products and services and our underlying technical infrastructure. We have experienced, and may in the future experience, interruptions in the availability or performance of our products and services from time to time. Our systems may not be adequately designed or may not operate with the reliability and redundancy necessary to avoid performance delays or outages that could be harmful to our business. If our products or services are unavailable when users attempt to access them, or if they do not load as quickly as expected, users may not use our products or services as often in the future, or at all, and our ability to serve ads may be disrupted, any of which could adversely affect our business and financial performance. We have experienced such issues to varying degrees from time to time. In addition, our business may be subject to interruptions, delays, or failures resulting from earthquakes, adverse weather conditions, other natural disasters, power loss, terrorism, geopolitical conflict, other physical security threats, cyber-attacks, or other catastrophic events and crises. Global climate change could result in certain types of natural disasters occurring more frequently or with more intense effects. Any such events may result in users being subject to service disruptions or outages and we may not be able to recover our technical infrastructure and user data in a timely manner to restart or provide our services, which may adversely affect our financial results. We also have been, and may in the future be, subject to increased energy and/or other costs to maintain the availability or performance of our products and services in connection with any such events.

Previous wording

A substantial portion of our technical infrastructure is provided by third parties. Any disruption or failure in the services we receive from these providers could harm our ability to handle existing or increased traffic and could significantly harm our business. Any financial or other difficulties these providers face may adversely affect our business, and we exercise little control over these providers, which increases our vulnerability to problems with the services they provide. We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, various challenges with the supply chain related to supporting our technical infrastructure. As a result, we have adjusted, and may continue to adjust in the future, our procurement practices to adapt to the evolving landscape. We may not be able to secure sufficient components, equipment, or services from third parties to satisfy our needs, or we may be required to procure such components, equipment, or services on unfavorable terms.

Current wording

A substantial portion of our technical infrastructure is provided by third parties. Any disruption or failure in the services we receive from these providers could harm our ability to handle existing or increased traffic and could significantly harm our business. Any financial or other difficulties these providers face may adversely affect our business, and we exercise little control over these providers, which increases our vulnerability to problems with the services they provide. We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, various challenges with the supply chain related to supporting our technical infrastructure. As a result, we have adjusted, and may continue to adjust in the future, our procurement practices to adapt to the evolving landscape. We may not be able to secure sufficient components, equipment, or services from third parties to satisfy our needs, or we may be required to procure such components, equipment, or services on unfavorable terms. For example, we are party to a number of partnerships and other third-party arrangements relating to these initiatives, some of which include multi-year purchase commitments. As of March 31, 2026, we had $237.67 billion of non-cancelable contractual commitments, comprising both short-term and long-term arrangements, most of which are related to third-party cloud capacity arrangements and other investments in technical infrastructure, and we continue to enter into additional significant contractual arrangements.

Previous wording

We have designed and built our own data centers and key portions of our technical infrastructure through which we serve our products, and we plan to continue to significantly expand the size of our infrastructure primarily through data centers, subsea and terrestrial fiber optic cable systems, and other projects. The infrastructure expansion we are undertaking is complex and involves projects in multiple locations around the world, including in developing regions that expose us to increased risks relating to anti-corruption compliance, trade compliance, and political challenges, among others. We have changed, suspended, and terminated certain of these projects as a result of various factors, and may continue to do so in the future. Additional unanticipated delays or disruptions in the completion of these projects, including due to the availability of components, power or network capacity, or any shortage of labor necessary in building portions of such projects, challenges in obtaining required government or regulatory approvals, or other geopolitical challenges or actions by governments, including trade disputes or other developments, may lead to increased project costs, operational inefficiencies, interruptions in the delivery or degradation of the quality or reliability of our products and services, or impairment of assets on our balance sheet. For example, like others in our industry, we rely on certain third-party equipment and components for our technical infrastructure that are manufactured by a small number of third parties, often with significant operations in a single region such as Asia. Any of the foregoing delays or disruptions, including actions by governments or geopolitical events such as international conflicts, tariffs, sanctions, export or import controls, and other measures that restrict international trade, could reduce or eliminate the ability of our suppliers, manufacturers, or other third-party providers to continue their operations to manufacture, or limit or eliminate our ability to purchase, key components of our technical infrastructure.

Current wording

We have designed and built our own data centers and key portions of our technical infrastructure through which we serve our products, and we plan to continue to significantly expand the size of our infrastructure primarily through data centers, subsea and terrestrial fiber optic cable systems, and other projects. The infrastructure expansion we are undertaking is complex and involves projects in multiple locations around the world, including in developing regions that expose us to increased risks relating to anti-corruption compliance, trade compliance, environmental, health, and safety compliance, and political challenges, among others. We have changed, suspended, and terminated certain of these projects as a result of various factors, and may continue to do so in the future. Additional unanticipated delays or disruptions in the completion of these projects, including due to the availability of components, power or network capacity, or any shortage of labor necessary in building portions of such projects, challenges in obtaining required government or regulatory approvals, or other geopolitical challenges or actions by governments, including trade disputes or other developments, may lead to increased project costs, operational inefficiencies, interruptions in the delivery or degradation of the quality or reliability of our products and services, or impairment of assets on our balance sheet. For example, like others in our industry, we rely on certain third-party equipment and components for our technical infrastructure that are manufactured by a small number of third parties, often with significant operations in a single region such as Asia. Any of the foregoing delays or disruptions, including actions by governments or geopolitical events such as international conflicts, tariffs, sanctions, export or import controls, and other measures that restrict international trade, could reduce or eliminate the ability of our suppliers, manufacturers, or other third-party providers to continue their operations to manufacture, or limit or eliminate our ability to purchase, key components of our technical infrastructure.

Previous wording

The numbers for our key metrics, which include our DAP and average revenue per person (ARPP), are calculated using internal company data based on the activity of user accounts. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates of our user base for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring usage of our products across large online and mobile populations around the world. The methodologies used to measure these metrics require significant judgment and are also susceptible to algorithm or other technical errors. In addition, we are continually seeking to improve our estimates of our user base, and such estimates may change due to improvements or changes in our methodology. We regularly review our processes for calculating these metrics, and from time to time we discover inaccuracies in our metrics or make adjustments to improve their accuracy, which can result in adjustments to our historical metrics. Our ability to recalculate our historical metrics may be impacted by data limitations or other factors that require us to apply different methodologies for such adjustments. We generally do not intend to update previously disclosed Family metrics for any such inaccuracies or adjustments that are within the error margins disclosed below.

Current wording

The numbers for our key metrics, which include our daily active people (DAP) and average revenue per person (ARPP), are calculated using internal company data based on the activity of user accounts. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates of our user base for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring usage of our products across large online and mobile populations around the world. The methodologies used to measure these metrics require significant judgment and are also susceptible to algorithm or other technical errors. In addition, we are continually seeking to improve our estimates of our user base, and such estimates may change due to improvements or changes in our methodology. We regularly review our processes for calculating these metrics, and from time to time we discover inaccuracies in our metrics or make adjustments to improve their accuracy, which can result in adjustments to our historical metrics. Our ability to recalculate our historical metrics may be impacted by data limitations or other factors that require us to apply different methodologies for such adjustments. We generally do not intend to update previously disclosed Family metrics for any such inaccuracies or adjustments that are within the error margins disclosed below.

Previous wording

We regularly evaluate our Family metrics to estimate the percentage of our DAP consisting solely of "violating" accounts. We define "violating" accounts as accounts which we believe are intended to be used for purposes that violate our terms of service, including bots and spam. In the fourth quarter of 2024, we estimated that less than 3% of our worldwide DAP consisted solely of violating accounts. Such estimation is based on an internal review of a limited sample of accounts, and we apply significant judgment in making this determination. For example, we look for account information and behaviors associated with Facebook and Instagram accounts that appear to be inauthentic to the reviewers, but we have limited visibility into WhatsApp user activity due to encryption. In addition, if we believe an individual person has one or more violating accounts, we do not include such person in our violating accounts estimation as long as we believe they have one account that does not constitute a violating account. From time to time, we disable certain user accounts, make product changes, or take other actions to reduce the number of violating accounts among our users, which may also reduce our DAP estimates in a particular period. We intend to continue to disclose our estimates of the percentage of our DAP consisting solely of violating accounts on an annual basis in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. Violating accounts are very difficult to measure at our scale, and it is possible that the actual number of violating accounts may vary significantly from our estimates.

Current wording

We regularly evaluate our Family metrics to estimate the percentage of our DAP consisting solely of "violating" accounts. We define "violating" accounts as accounts which we believe are intended to be used for purposes that violate our terms of service, including bots and spam. Our violating accounts estimation is based on an internal review of a limited sample of accounts, and we apply significant judgment in making this determination. For example, we look for account information and behaviors associated with Facebook and Instagram accounts that appear to be inauthentic to the reviewers, but we have less visibility into WhatsApp user activity due to encryption. In addition, if we believe an individual person has one or more violating accounts, we do not include such person in our violating accounts estimation as long as we believe they have one active account that does not constitute a violating account. In the fourth quarter of 2025, we made certain updates to the methodology we use for this estimation, including to incorporate updated data signals as a result of improvements in our ability to identify activity we believe to be violating our policies, as well as to focus on the most recent account activity when determining whether to include a person in our violating accounts estimation. Accordingly, in the fourth quarter of 2025, we estimated that less than 5% of our worldwide DAP consisted solely of violating accounts. We believe the increase compared to our prior estimation was a result of the methodology update described above. From time to time, we disable certain user accounts, make product changes, or take other actions to reduce the number of violating accounts among our users, which may also reduce our DAP estimates in a particular period. We intend to continue to disclose our estimates of the percentage of our DAP consisting solely of violating accounts on an annual basis in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. Violating accounts are very difficult to measure at our scale, and it is possible that the actual number of violating accounts may vary significantly from our estimates.

Previous wording

Our employee headcount and the scale and complexity of our business have increased significantly over time. The scale of our business and breadth of our products create significant challenges for our management, operational, and financial resources, including managing multiple relationships with users, marketers, developers, and other third parties, and maintaining information technology systems and internal controls and procedures that support the scale and complexity of our business. To effectively manage our scale, we must maintain, and continue to adapt, our operational, financial, and management processes and systems, manage our headcount and facilities, and effectively train and manage our personnel. Many of our personnel work remotely, which may lead to challenges in productivity and collaboration. In addition, from time to time, we implement organizational changes to pursue greater efficiency and realign our business and strategic priorities. For example, in 2022 and 2023, we announced several initiatives, including restructurings, employee layoffs, and measures to scale down our office facilities. These efforts also subject us to risks such as greater than anticipated costs, adverse effects on employee retention, and increased difficulty managing the scale and complexity of our business. For example, we could face delays or challenges with product development, other business and strategic initiatives, or legal and regulatory compliance, as well as other disruptions to our operations. As our organization continues to evolve, and we are required to implement and adapt complex organizational management structures, we may find it difficult to maintain the benefits of our corporate culture, including our ability to quickly develop and launch new and innovative products. Any of these developments could negatively affect our business, reputation, or financial results.

Current wording

The scale and complexity of our business have increased significantly over time. The scale of our business and breadth of our products create significant challenges for our management, operational, and financial resources, including managing multiple relationships with users, marketers, developers, and other third parties, and maintaining information technology systems and internal controls and procedures that support the scale and complexity of our business, including our AI initiatives. To effectively manage our scale, we must maintain, and continue to adapt, our operational, financial, and management processes and systems, manage our headcount and facilities, and effectively train and manage our personnel. Many of our personnel work remotely, which may lead to challenges in productivity and collaboration. In addition, from time to time, we implement organizational changes to pursue greater efficiency and realign our business and strategic priorities. For example, in 2022 and 2023, we announced several initiatives, including restructurings, employee layoffs, and measures to scale down our office facilities. These efforts also subject us to risks such as greater than anticipated costs, adverse effects on employee retention, and increased difficulty managing the scale and complexity of our business. For example, we could face delays or challenges with product development, enforcement of our policies, other business and strategic initiatives, or legal and regulatory compliance, as well as other disruptions to our operations. As our organization continues to evolve, and we are required to implement and adapt complex organizational management structures, we may find it difficult to maintain the benefits of our corporate culture, including our ability to quickly develop and launch new and innovative products. Any of these developments could negatively affect our business, reputation, or financial results.

Previous wording

We are involved in numerous lawsuits, including stockholder derivative lawsuits and putative class action lawsuits, many of which claim statutory damages and/or seek significant changes to our business operations, and we anticipate that we will continue to be a target for numerous lawsuits in the future. Because of the scale of our user, advertiser, and developer base, the plaintiffs in class action cases filed against us typically claim enormous monetary damages even if the alleged per-user or entity harm is small or non-existent. In addition, we have faced, currently face, and will continue to face additional class action and other lawsuits based on claims related to advertising, antitrust, privacy, security, biometrics, content, algorithms, copyright, user well-being, younger users, employment, contingent workers, activities on our platform, consumer protection, unfair and deceptive trade practices, or product performance or other claims related to the use of consumer hardware and software, including virtual reality technology and products, which are new and unproven. For example, we are currently the subject of multiple putative class action suits in connection with our platform and user data practices and the misuse of certain data by a developer that shared such data with third parties in violation of our terms and policies; the disclosure of our earnings results for the second quarter of 2018; our acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as other alleged anticompetitive conduct; a former employee's allegations and release of internal company documents beginning in September 2021; the disclosure of our earnings results for the fourth quarter of 2021; and allegations that we inflated our estimates of the potential audience size for advertisements, resulting in artificially increased demand and higher prices. We are also the subject of multiple lawsuits related to our alleged use of biometric technology, our alleged recommendation of and/or failure to remove harmful content, information from third-party websites or apps via our business tools, our alleged use of copyright-protected content to train our AI models, and allegations that Facebook and Instagram cause "social media addiction" in users and allegations of violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). We have seen an increase in litigation and threatened claims related to the provision of our services to younger users, and expect to face similar litigation in the future, including as global youth-related regulation continues to evolve. The results of any such lawsuits and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, and any negative outcome from any such lawsuits could result in payments of substantial monetary damages or fines, or undesirable changes to our products or business practices, and accordingly our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Current wording

We are involved in numerous lawsuits, including stockholder derivative lawsuits and putative class action lawsuits, many of which claim statutory damages and/or seek significant changes to our business operations, and we anticipate that we will continue to be a target for numerous lawsuits in the future. Because of the scale of our user, advertiser, and developer base, the plaintiffs in class action cases filed against us typically claim enormous monetary damages even if the alleged per-user or entity harm is small or non-existent. In addition, we have faced, currently face, and will continue to face additional class action and other lawsuits based on claims related to advertising, antitrust, privacy, security, biometrics, content, algorithms, copyright, user well-being, younger users, employment, contingent workers, activities on our platform, consumer protection, unfair and deceptive trade practices, or product performance or other claims related to the use of consumer hardware and software, including virtual reality technology and products, which are new and unproven. For example, we are currently the subject of multiple putative class action suits in connection with our platform and user data practices and the misuse of certain data by a developer that shared such data with third parties in violation of our terms and policies; the disclosure of our earnings results for the second quarter of 2018; our acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as other alleged anticompetitive conduct; a former employee's allegations and release of internal company documents beginning in September 2021; the disclosure of our earnings results for the fourth quarter of 2021; and allegations that we inflated our estimates of the potential audience size for advertisements, resulting in artificially increased demand and higher prices. We are also the subject of multiple lawsuits related to our alleged use of biometric technology, our alleged recommendation of and/or failure to remove harmful content, information from third-party websites or apps via our business tools, our alleged use of copyright-protected content, or data that we allegedly improperly scraped or acquired, to train our AI models, and allegations that Facebook and Instagram cause "social media addiction" in users and allegations of violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). We have seen an increase in litigation and threatened claims related to the provision of our services to younger users, and expect to face similar litigation in the future, including as global youth-related regulation continues to evolve. The results of any such lawsuits and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, and any negative outcome from any such lawsuits could result in payments of substantial monetary damages or fines, or undesirable changes to our products or business practices, and accordingly our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially and adversely af…

Excerpt shortened here; the source contains the full paragraph.

Previous wording

As part of our business strategy, we have made and intend to continue to make acquisitions to add specialized employees and complementary companies, products, or technologies, and from time to time may enter into other strategic transactions such as investments and joint ventures. We may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates, and we may not be able to complete acquisitions or other strategic transactions on favorable terms, or at all, including as a result of regulatory challenges. For example, we completed our divestiture of Giphy in 2023 following the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority's order directing us to divest Giphy post-acquisition. In addition, although we were able to successfully complete the acquisition after prevailing in federal court, the FTC sought to enjoin our proposed acquisition of Within Unlimited. In some cases, the costs of such acquisitions or other strategic transactions may be substantial, and there is no assurance that we will realize expected synergies and potential monetization opportunities for our acquisitions or a favorable return on investment for our strategic investments.

Current wording

As part of our business strategy, we have made and intend to continue to make acquisitions to add specialized employees and complementary companies, products, or technologies, and from time to time may enter into other strategic transactions such as investments and joint ventures. We may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates, and we may not be able to complete acquisitions or other strategic transactions on favorable terms, or at all, including as a result of regulatory challenges, or we may be subject to regulatory challenges after such transactions close. For example, we completed our divestiture of Giphy in 2023 following the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority's order directing us to divest Giphy post-acquisition. In addition, although we were able to successfully complete the acquisition after prevailing in federal court, the FTC sought to enjoin our proposed acquisition of Within Unlimited. In some cases, the costs of such acquisitions or other strategic transactions may be substantial, and there is no assurance that we will realize expected synergies and potential monetization opportunities for our acquisitions or a favorable return on investment for our strategic investments.

Previous wording

Our tax obligations, including income and non-income taxes, are based in part on our corporate operating structure and intercompany arrangements, including the manner in which we operate our business, develop, value, manage, protect, and use our intellectual property, and the valuations of our intercompany transactions. The tax laws applicable to our business, including the laws of the United States and other jurisdictions, are subject to interpretation. Certain jurisdictions have applied novel or aggressive interpretations of their laws in an effort to raise additional tax revenue from companies such as Meta, and we may experience similar developments in the future. We are subject to regular review and audit by U.S. federal, state, and foreign tax authorities. Tax authorities may disagree with certain positions we have taken, including our methodologies for valuing developed technology or intercompany arrangements, and any adverse outcome of such a review or audit could increase our worldwide effective tax rate, increase the amount of non-income taxes imposed on our business, and harm our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. For example, in 2016 and 2018, the IRS issued formal assessments relating to transfer pricing with our foreign subsidiaries in conjunction with the examination of the 2010 through 2013 tax years. Although we disagree with the IRS's position and are litigating this issue, the ultimate resolution is uncertain and, if resolved in a manner unfavorable to us, may adversely affect our financial results.

Current wording

Our tax obligations, including income and non-income taxes, are based in part on our corporate operating structure and intercompany arrangements, including the manner in which we operate our business, develop, value, manage, protect, and use our intellectual property, and the valuations of our intercompany transactions. The tax laws applicable to our business, including the laws of the United States and other jurisdictions, are subject to interpretation. Certain jurisdictions have applied novel or aggressive interpretations of their laws in an effort to raise additional tax revenue from companies such as Meta, and we may experience similar developments in the future. We are subject to regular review and audit by U.S. federal, state, and foreign tax authorities. Tax authorities may disagree with certain positions we have taken, including our methodologies for valuing developed technology or intercompany arrangements, and any adverse outcome of such a review or audit could increase our worldwide effective tax rate, increase the amount of non-income taxes imposed on our business, and harm our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. For example, in 2016 and 2018, the IRS issued formal assessments relating to transfer pricing with our foreign subsidiaries in conjunction with the examination of the 2010 through 2013 tax years. Although we disagree with the IRS' position and are litigating this issue, the ultimate resolution is uncertain and, if resolved in a manner unfavorable to us, may adversely affect our financial results.

Previous wording

The tax regimes we are subject to or operate under, including income and non-income taxes, are unsettled and may be subject to significant change. Changes in tax laws or tax rulings, or changes in interpretations of existing laws, could materially affect our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. For example, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted in July 2025 had a significant impact on our tax obligations and effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2025. The issuance of additional regulatory or accounting guidance related to the OBBBA or other executive or Congressional actions in the United States or globally could materially increase our tax obligations and significantly impact our effective tax rate in the period such guidance is issued or such actions take effect, and in future periods. In addition, many countries have recently proposed or recommended changes to existing tax laws or have enacted new laws that could significantly increase our tax obligations in many countries where we do business or require us to change the manner in which we operate our business.

Current wording

The tax regimes we are subject to or operate under, including income and non-income taxes, are unsettled and may be subject to significant change. Changes in tax laws or tax rulings, or changes in interpretations of existing laws, could materially affect our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. For example, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted in July 2025 had a significant impact on our tax obligations and effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2025. The issuance of additional regulatory or accounting guidance related to the OBBBA or other executive or Congressional actions in the United States or globally could materially affect our tax obligations and significantly impact our effective tax rate in the period such guidance is issued or such actions take effect, and in future periods. In addition, many countries have recently proposed or recommended changes to existing tax laws or have enacted new laws that could significantly increase our tax obligations in many countries where we do business or require us to change the manner in which we operate our business.

Previous wording

Over the last several years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has been working on a Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project that, if implemented, would change various aspects of the existing framework under which our tax obligations are determined in many of the countries in which we do business. A number of countries have enacted legislation to implement the OECD’s 15% global minimum tax regime. As additional jurisdictions enact legislation, transitional relief expires, and other provisions of the minimum tax legislation become effective, our effective tax rate and cash tax payments could increase in future years. Similarly, the European Commission and several countries have issued proposals that would apply to various aspects of the current international tax rules under which we are taxed. These proposals include changes to the existing rules to calculate income tax, as well as proposals to change or impose new types of non-income taxes, including taxes based on a percentage of revenue. For example, several jurisdictions have proposed or enacted taxes applicable to certain digital services, which include business activities on digital advertising and online marketplaces, and which apply to our business. In the absence of active OECD discussions, countries may continue imposing unilateral tax measures, such as digital services taxes, outside existing treaty frameworks. These measures may proliferate in the absence of bilateral or multilateral agreement.

Current wording

Over the last several years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has been working on a Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project that, if implemented, would change various aspects of the existing framework under which our tax obligations are determined in many of the countries in which we do business. A number of countries have enacted legislation to implement the OECD’s 15% global minimum tax regime. In January 2026, the OECD introduced new guidance, including a "Side-by-Side Safe Harbor," allowing U.S. headquartered companies to remain subject to only U.S. global minimum taxes (specifically, the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT)) while exempting them from Pillar Two. As additional jurisdictions enact legislation, transitional relief expires, and other provisions of the minimum tax legislation become effective, our effective tax rate and cash tax payments could increase in future years. Similarly, the European Commission and several countries have issued proposals that would apply to various aspects of the current international tax rules under which we are taxed. These proposals include changes to the existing rules to calculate income tax, as well as proposals to change or impose new types of non-income taxes, including taxes based on a percentage of revenue. For example, several jurisdictions have proposed or enacted taxes applicable to certain digital services, which include business activities on digital advertising and online marketplaces, and which apply to our business. In the absence of active OECD discussions, countries may continue imposing unilateral tax measures, such as digital services taxes, outside existing treaty frameworks. These measures may proliferate in the absence of bilateral or multilateral agreement.

Previous wording

The tax effects of the accounting for share-based compensation have in the past impacted, and may in the future impact, our effective tax rate, sometimes significantly, from period to period. In periods in which our stock price varies from the grant price of the share-based compensation vesting in that period, we will recognize excess tax benefits or shortfalls that may impact our effective tax rate. Following the enactment of OBBBA, excess tax benefits from share-based compensation may not be realizable as a result of the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT). In future periods in which our stock price varies in comparison to the grant price of the share-based compensation vesting in that period, our effective tax rate may be inversely impacted. The amount and value of share-based compensation issued relative to our earnings in a particular period will also affect the magnitude of the impact of share-based compensation on our effective tax rate. In future periods, the tax effects of share-based compensation are dependent on our stock price, which we do not control, the CAMT system, and future changes in tax laws.

Current wording

The tax effects of the accounting for share-based compensation have in the past impacted, and may in the future impact, our effective tax rate, sometimes significantly, from period to period. In periods in which our stock price varies from the grant price of the share-based compensation vesting in that period, we will recognize excess tax benefits or shortfalls that may impact our effective tax rate. Following the enactment of OBBBA, excess tax benefits from share-based compensation may not be realizable as a result of the CAMT. In future periods in which our stock price varies in comparison to the grant price of the share-based compensation vesting in that period, our effective tax rate may be inversely impacted. The amount and value of share-based compensation issued relative to our earnings in a particular period will also affect the magnitude of the impact of share-based compensation on our effective tax rate. In future periods, the tax effects of share-based compensation are dependent on our stock price, which we do not control, the CAMT system, and future changes in tax laws.

Previous wording

In addition, we cannot guarantee we will continue to attract and retain the personnel we need to maintain our competitive position. In particular, we expect to continue to face significant challenges in hiring specialized technical personnel, particularly senior engineering talent, whether as a result of competition with other companies or other factors. As our company continues to evolve, the incentives to attract, retain, and motivate employees provided by our equity awards or by future arrangements may not be as effective as in the past. From time to time we issue significant equity to attract additional employees or to retain our existing employees, resulting in substantial additional share-based compensation expense and dilution to the ownership of our existing stockholders. Our ability to attract, retain, and motivate employees may also be adversely affected by stock price volatility. In addition, restrictive immigration policies or legal or regulatory developments relating to immigration may negatively affect our efforts to attract and hire new personnel as well as retain our existing personnel. If we do not succeed in attracting, hiring, and integrating excellent personnel, or retaining and motivating existing personnel, we may be unable to grow effectively or otherwise achieve our business objectives.

Current wording

In addition, we cannot guarantee we will continue to attract and retain the personnel we need to maintain our competitive position. In particular, we expect to continue to face significant challenges in hiring specialized technical personnel, particularly senior engineering and AI research talent, whether as a result of competition with other companies or other factors. As our company continues to evolve, the incentives to attract, retain, and motivate employees provided by our equity awards or by future arrangements may not be as effective as in the past. From time to time we issue significant equity to attract additional employees or to retain our existing employees, resulting in substantial additional share-based compensation expense and dilution to the ownership of our existing stockholders. Our ability to attract, retain, and motivate employees may also be adversely affected by stock price volatility. In addition, restrictive immigration policies or legal or regulatory developments relating to immigration may negatively affect our efforts to attract and hire new personnel as well as retain our existing personnel. If we do not succeed in attracting, hiring, and integrating excellent personnel, or retaining and motivating existing personnel, we may be unable to grow effectively or otherwise achieve our business objectives.

Previous wording

Governments from time to time seek to censor or moderate content available on Facebook or our other products in their country, restrict access to our products from their country partially or entirely, or impose other restrictions that may affect the accessibility of our products in their country for an extended period of time or indefinitely. For example, user access to Facebook and certain of our other products has been or is currently restricted in whole or in part in China, Iran, and North Korea. In addition, government authorities in other countries may seek to restrict user access to our products if they consider us to be in violation of their laws or a threat to public safety or for other reasons, and certain of our products have been restricted by governments in other countries from time to time. For example, in 2020, Hong Kong adopted a National Security Law that provides authorities with the ability to obtain information, remove and block access to content, and suspend user services, and if we are found to be in violation of this law then the use of our products may be restricted. Hong Kong has passed additional national security legislation in 2024. In addition, if we are required to or elect to make changes to our marketing and sales or other operations in Hong Kong as a result of the National Security Law or other legislation, our revenue and business in the region will be adversely affected. In addition, in connection with the war in Ukraine in the first quarter of 2022, access to Facebook and Instagram was restricted in Russia and the services were then prohibited by the Russian government, which has adversely affected, and will likely continue to adversely affect, our revenue and business in the region.

Current wording

Governments from time to time seek to censor or moderate content available on Facebook or our other products in their country, restrict access to our products from their country partially or entirely, or impose other restrictions that may affect the accessibility of our products in their country for an extended period of time or indefinitely. For example, user access to Facebook and certain of our other products has been or is currently restricted in whole or in part in China, Iran, and North Korea. In addition, government authorities in other countries may seek to restrict user access to our products if they consider us to be in violation of their laws or a threat to public safety or for other reasons, and certain of our products have been restricted by governments in other countries from time to time. For example, in 2020, Hong Kong adopted a National Security Law that provides authorities with the ability to obtain information, remove and block access to content, and suspend user services, and if we are found to be in violation of this law then the use of our products may be restricted. Hong Kong has passed additional national security legislation in 2024. In addition, if we are required to or elect to make changes to our marketing and sales or other operations in Hong Kong as a result of the National Security Law or other legislation, our revenue and business in the region will be adversely affected. In addition, in connection with the war in Ukraine in 2022, access to Facebook and Instagram was restricted in Russia and the services were then prohibited by the Russian government, which has adversely affected, and will likely continue to adversely affect, our revenue and business in the region.

Previous wording

We are subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the United States and abroad that involve matters central to our business, including privacy, data use, data combination, data protection and personal information, the provision of our services to younger users, biometrics, encryption, rights of publicity, content, integrity, intellectual property, advertising, marketing, distribution, data security, data retention and deletion, data localization and storage, data disclosure, AI and machine learning, electronic contracts and other communications, competition, protection of minors, consumer protection, civil rights, accessibility, telecommunications, product liability, e-commerce, taxation, economic or other trade controls including sanctions, export controls, anti-corruption and political law compliance, securities law compliance, and online payment services. The introduction of new products, expansion of our activities in certain jurisdictions, or other actions that we may take may subject us to additional laws, regulations, or other government scrutiny. In addition, these U.S. and foreign laws and regulations may impose different obligations from each other and create the potential for significant fines to be imposed.

Current wording

We are subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the United States and abroad that involve matters central to our business, including privacy, data use, data combination, data protection and personal information, the provision of our services to younger users, biometrics, encryption, rights of publicity, content, integrity, intellectual property, advertising, marketing, distribution, data security, data retention and deletion, data localization and storage, data disclosure, AI and machine learning, electronic contracts and other communications, competition, protection of minors, consumer protection, civil rights, accessibility, telecommunications, product liability, medical devices, e-commerce, taxation, economic or other trade controls including sanctions, export controls, anti-corruption and political law compliance, securities law compliance, and online payment services. The introduction of new products, expansion of our activities in certain jurisdictions, or other actions that we may take may subject us to additional laws, regulations, or other government scrutiny. In addition, these U.S. and foreign laws and regulations may impose different obligations from each other and create the potential for significant fines to be imposed or other consequences such as changes to our products or business practices.

Previous wording

We are also subject to evolving laws and regulations that dictate whether, how, and under what circumstances we can transfer, process or receive certain data that is critical to our operations, including data shared between countries or regions in which we operate and data shared among our products and services. For example, in 2016, the European Union and United States agreed to a transfer framework for data transferred from the European Union to the United States, called the Privacy Shield, but the Privacy Shield was invalidated in July 2020 by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). In addition, the other bases upon which Meta relies to transfer such data, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), have been subjected to regulatory and judicial scrutiny. For example, the CJEU considered the validity of SCCs as a basis to transfer user data from the European Union to the United States following a challenge brought by the Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC). Although the CJEU upheld the validity of SCCs in July 2020, on May 12, 2023, the IDPC issued a Final Decision concluding that Meta Platforms Ireland’s reliance on SCCs in respect of certain transfers of European Economic Area (EEA) Facebook user data was not in compliance with the GDPR. The IDPC issued an administrative fine of EUR €1.2 billion as well as corrective orders requiring Meta Platforms Ireland to suspend the relevant transfers and to bring its processing operations into compliance with Chapter V GDPR by ceasing the unlawful processing, including storage, of such data in the United States. We are appealing this Final Decision and it is currently subject to an interim stay from the Irish High Court.

Current wording

We are also subject to evolving laws and regulations that dictate whether, how, and under what circumstances we can transfer, process or receive certain data that is critical to our operations, including data shared between countries or regions in which we operate and data shared among our products and services. For example, the bases upon which we have relied for data transfers from the European Union to the United States have been subjected to regulatory and judicial scrutiny. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) invalidated the Privacy Shield in 2020 and also considered the validity of Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) as a basis to transfer user data from the European Union to the United States following a challenge brought by the Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC). Although the CJEU upheld the validity of SCCs in 2020, in May 2023, the IDPC issued a Final Decision concluding that Meta Platforms Ireland’s reliance on SCCs in respect of certain transfers of European Economic Area (EEA) Facebook user data was not in compliance with the GDPR. The IDPC issued an administrative fine of EUR €1.2 billion as well as corrective orders requiring Meta Platforms Ireland to suspend the relevant transfers and to bring its processing operations into compliance with Chapter V GDPR by ceasing the unlawful processing, including storage, of such data in the United States. We are appealing this Final Decision and it is currently subject to a stay from the Irish High Court. We have also implemented steps to comply with the above corrective orders and are pending the IDPC's confirmation that these address the corrective orders. During the course of this matter, in 2022, the European Union and United States reached an agreement on a new EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (EU-U.S. DPF), which the European Commission deemed adequate in relation to U.S. data transfers in July 2023. The EU-U.S. DPF replaces two prior adequacy frameworks which were invalidated by the CJEU. A further invalidation of the EU-U.S. DPF by the CJEU could create considerable uncertainty and lead to us being unable to offer a number of our most significant products and services, including Facebook and Instagram, in Europe, which would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Previous wording

We have been subject to other significant legislative and regulatory developments, which together with proposed or new legislation and regulations could significantly affect our business in the future. For example, we have implemented a number of product changes and controls as a result of requirements under the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and may implement additional changes in the future. The GDPR also requires submission of personal data breach notifications to our lead European Union privacy regulator, the IDPC, and includes significant penalties for non-compliance with the notification obligation as well as other requirements of the regulation. The interpretation of the GDPR is still evolving, including through decisions of the CJEU, and draft decisions in investigations by the IDPC are subject to review by other European privacy regulators as part of the GDPR's consistency mechanism, which may lead to significant changes in the final outcome of such investigations. We also face potential enforcement from European privacy regulators other than the IDPC, including where those regulators consider they must act urgently or where they believe their concerns relate only to data processing undertaken in their individual jurisdiction. As a result, the interpretation and enforcement of the GDPR, as well as the imposition and amount of penalties for non-compliance, are subject to significant uncertainty, and as it evolves, could potentially have a negative impact on our business and/or our operations. In addition, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and other countries have enacted similar data protection regulations imposing data privacy-related requirements on products and services offered to users in their respective jurisdictions. The California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA), also establishes certain transparency rules and creates certain data privacy rights for users, including limitations on our use of certain sensitive personal information and more ability for users to control the purposes for which their data is shared with third parties. Other states have proposed or enacted similar comprehensive privacy laws that afford users with similar data privacy rights and controls. These laws and regulations are evolving and subject to interpretation, and resulting limitations on our advertising services, or reductions of advertising by marketers, have to some extent adversely affected, and will continue to adversely affect, our advertising business. Some states have also proposed or enacted laws specifically focused on whether and how a company can moderate content on its services, and/or on the privacy rights and controls for users under 18 years old and their parents or guardians. Like comprehensive privacy laws, these laws are evolving and subject to interpretation, and may restrict our ability to offer certain products and services provided to all or certain cohorts of users in those…

Excerpt shortened here; the source contains the full paragraph.

Current wording

We have been subject to other significant legislative and regulatory developments, which together with proposed or new legislation and regulations could significantly affect our business in the future. For example, we have implemented a number of product changes and controls as a result of requirements under the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and may implement additional changes in the future. The GDPR also requires submission of personal data breach notifications to our lead European Union privacy regulator, the IDPC, and includes significant penalties for non-compliance with the notification obligation as well as other requirements of the regulation. The interpretation of the GDPR is still evolving, including through decisions of the CJEU, and draft decisions in investigations by the IDPC are subject to review by other European privacy regulators as part of the GDPR's consistency mechanism, which may lead to significant changes in the final outcome of such investigations. We also face potential enforcement from European privacy regulators other than the IDPC, including where those regulators consider they must act urgently or where they believe their concerns relate only to data processing undertaken in their individual jurisdiction. As a result, the interpretation and enforcement of the GDPR, as well as the imposition and amount of penalties for non-compliance, are subject to significant uncertainty, and as it evolves, could potentially have a negative impact on our business and/or our operations. In addition, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and other countries have enacted similar data protection regulations imposing data privacy-related requirements on products and services offered to users in their respective jurisdictions. The California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, also establishes certain transparency rules and creates certain data privacy rights for users, including limitations on our use of certain sensitive personal information and more ability for users to control the purposes for which their data is shared with third parties. Other states have proposed or enacted similar comprehensive privacy laws that afford users with similar data privacy rights and controls. These laws and regulations are evolving and subject to interpretation, and resulting limitations on our advertising services, or reductions of advertising by marketers, have to some extent adversely affected, and will continue to adversely affect, our advertising business. Some states have also proposed or enacted laws specifically focused on whether and how a company can moderate content on its services, and/or on the privacy rights and controls for users under 18 years old and their parents or guardians. Like comprehensive privacy laws, these laws are evolving and subject to interpretation, and may restrict our ability to offer certain products and services provided to all or certain cohorts of users in those states…

Excerpt shortened here; the source contains the full paragraph.