Facebook down to $26.90 as it 'looks for a way to let youngsters in'
Facebook stock finished at a new record low yesterday of $26.90 down more than 30 per cent on its IPO price of $38.00 as reports circulated saying it was thinking of dropping its ban on members younger than 13.
Shares down to $26.90
The company is now valued at around $72 billion down from $104 billion. The shares have fallen in all but three sessions since trading began just over two weeks ago.
While no-one seems to agree on a stable price for Facebook, the business goes on.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook is testing a system that allows children younger than 13 access to Facebook as long as the child's account is connected to a parent's account.
Facebook currently bans sub-13s because federal law forbids collecting personal data from children younger than 13 without verifiable parental consent. Millions of children younger under 13 are said to be on the social network with fake ages.
The WSJ said Facebook was testing various levels of parental control for preteens Facebook accounts and has spoken with content providers popular with children about the change, including Disney, the Journal reported.
Facebook would not confirm or deny the tests to the WSJ , but admitted that they are constantly focused on the matter.
Facebook is also said to renegotiating with Yahoo to end the companies' legal battle over patents. Yahoo sued Facebook over patents in early March.
According to technology blog AllThingsD, the two are now discussing a cross-licensing settlement that would give Yahoo and Facebook rights to some technology now owned by both sides, instead of a big cash payment from either side.