Meta, the business formerly known as Facebook, saw its stock plummet on Monday, continuing the slide started last week by weaker-than-expected profits and rising worries over data privacy.

Meta shares fell 12.18 percent, extending losses for the third day following a record drop last week. Since the beginning of the year, the company’s stock has dropped 34%. Concerns over privacy improvements in Apple devices, which make it more difficult for marketers to observe how advertisements perform on Facebook, have fueled the fall.

Meta, which owns the social media behemoths Facebook and Instagram, is experiencing a number of issues. It is embroiled in a number of regulatory battles and is attempting to defend its strategy move toward an immersive internet known as the metaverse.

According to a story published on Thursday, the firm has threatened to withdraw Facebook and Instagram from Europe if it is unable to continue transmitting user data back to the US while authorities negotiate to replace a cancelled privacy accord.

For months, EU officials have been locked in talks with the US to replace a transatlantic data transfer accord on which thousands of businesses rely. It was overruled by the EU Court of Justice in 2020 because to concerns that people’ data would be compromised after it was sent to the US.

In response to Meta’s threats to leave Europe, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said at a press conference on Monday that life in Europe is OK without Facebook.

“I’ve been living without Facebook and Twitter for four years after being hacked, and life has been amazing,” Mr Habeck added.

The company’s difficulties have been exacerbated by last week’s poor earnings. Data indicated that it had lost daily active users for the first time in its 18-year history, as its net earnings fell more than 8% year on year to $10.2 billion in the fourth quarter.

The data, which suggest to stagnating growth, triggered the largest single-day market value wipeout for a US firm on February 4, with Meta’s shares dropping 26%, wiping out more than $200 billion in value.

This reduced Mr Zuckerberg’s net worth to $85 billion, putting him outside the world’s top ten wealthiest individuals — and the elite $100 billion club — for the first time since July 2015.