NEW YORK, Feb 22, 2026, 10:38 EST — The market has wrapped up for the day.
- Turkey’s data protection authority has started looking into how major platforms—among them Meta’s Instagram and Facebook—handle children’s personal data.
- Meta shares finished up on Friday. Investors are now waiting to see if regulators take further action, as well as how the company will respond.
- Meta President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick was awarded a sizable restricted-stock grant, according to a recent SEC filing.
Turkey’s data protection authority has opened a probe into how top social media platforms—among them Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Facebook—manage children’s personal data. The regulator said it’s looking to shield children from “potential risks” online, and will review data handling and safety protocols on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X, and Discord. 1
Why it matters now: Meta makes its ad dollars off user data. Crackdowns on minor protections squeeze the targeting marketers want. Country-specific moves also pile on compliance costs, bog down updates, and can spark similar scrutiny in other places.
The update comes just as investors are tallying up Meta’s outlays. Artificial intelligence sits at the top of the company’s to-do list, but when spending outpaces revenue growth, markets haven’t hesitated to hit big tech stocks.
Meta wrapped up Friday at $655.66, climbing 1.7%. U.S. markets are closed Sunday, so on Monday, traders will watch to see if the Turkey review morphs into a wider regulatory concern or just remains a standard check.
An SEC filing from Feb. 20 revealed that Meta President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick was granted 91,333 restricted stock units—RSUs that will convert to shares as long as she remains at the company. According to the disclosure, the awards start vesting in increments and continue through 2030. 2
Cost discipline is still in focus. According to the Financial Times, and echoed by Reuters, Meta trimmed most employees’ annual stock option grants by roughly 5%—a follow-up to an even steeper reduction last year—as CEO Mark Zuckerberg doubles down on AI investment. The company’s guidance on 2026 capital expenditures remains hefty, with Meta projecting spending between $115 billion and $135 billion on big-ticket items like data centers. 3
There’s a risk the Turkey review could balloon into an enforcement move, compelling Meta to overhaul how it manages minors’ data—or restricting its ad targeting. The drawn-out version is no easier: months of scrutiny dragging on, headlines piling up, advertisers and regulators tracking every stumble.
Competition here is tangled. Turkey’s list ropes in not just Meta’s apps, but also Alphabet’s YouTube, ByteDance’s TikTok, X, and Discord. If local rules shift, it could change the way these platforms battle for ad dollars and the attention of younger users.
Looking ahead, investors are waiting to see if Turkey’s regulator announces a timeline or early conclusions—and if Meta issues a statement or tweaks its product settings locally. After that, the next big date on Wall Street’s radar is Meta’s upcoming earnings, currently penciled in for April 29 on one earnings calendar, though that’s still unconfirmed. 4
