Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Back-to-back jury verdicts against Meta could spur a flood of litigation against social media companies and threaten to undermine Section 230 protections — Social-media giants confront existential dilemma as a flood of litigation challenges their product designs
Discussion:
Irish Examiner, New York Times, Thurrott, The Hans India, Reuters, The Sun Malaysia, Pixel Envy, The Indian Express, The Japan Times, Alaska Public Media, Global News, Mobile World Live, Miami Herald, Barron's Online, The Daily Signal, TODAY.com, Business Insider and ZeroHedge News, more at Techmeme »
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Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:
Social media addiction trial: a Los Angeles jury finds Meta and YouTube were negligent and failed to warn users about the dangers of using their platforms — A jury has reached a verdict in a major trial involving Meta and Google that could have repercussions across social media and the broader technology market.
Discussion:
The Drum, Mercury News, BBC, Associated Press, NBC Los Angeles, France 24, American Prospect, The Star, @brianstelter, @cnn, Inc, The Wrap, Alan Lasky on LinkedIn, @rweingarten.bsky.social, Bloomberg, CNN, Politico, iPhone in Canada, Capital Brief, SiliconANGLE, The Hill, TechRadar, New York Times, Euro Weekly News, ABA Journal, Los Angeles Times, adnews.com.au, Wall Street Journal, Spokesman.com, Android Central, Insurance Business, ABC News, PYMNTS.com, Rest of World, @theothermandela.bsky.social, Straight Arrow News, Dan Jeffris on LinkedIn, Lifehacker, @elfsternberg.bsky.social, Ars Technica, Just The News, Sky News, The Independent, Axios, PBS NewsHour, @solnatamd.medsky.social, The 19th, SheKnows, The Post Millennial, @klonick.bsky.social, Implicator.ai, NBC Bay Area, Washington Examiner, @phillewis.bsky.social, CBS News, Overturned, New York Post, Financial Post, Benzinga and FOX 11 Los Angeles, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
A jury in the Los Angeles social media trial awards the plaintiff $3M in compensatory damages and $3M in punitive damages; Meta will pay $4.2M and YouTube $1.8M — A jury found the companies harmed a young user with design features that were addictive and led to her mental health distress.
Discussion:
NPR, @bedoyausa, Sportico, Inc.com, Health Policy Watch, Silicon Republic, The Guardian, LiveScience, Implicator.ai, CalMatters, 9to5Mac, Town & Country, Poynter, Us Weekly, Bloomberg, Neowin, PhoneArena, Lawyer Monthly, Türkiye Today, UPI, Anadolu Ajansı …, @bedoyausa, Throughline, Android Police, Hypebeast, The Dispatch, The Indian Express, Robert Reich, Fortune, @stevekenson.com, Information Age, @googeliart.bsky.social, The Information, MediaPost, Deseret News, Tubefilter, Wall Street Journal, One America News Network, HotAir, Ben Locke on LinkedIn, @martylederman.bsky.social, thesource.com, Business Wire, Stijn Huijts on LinkedIn, The i Paper, USA Today, SheKnows, Ashvin Sood on LinkedIn, New Scientist, @jonathanhaidt.bsky.social, The Cut, The American Bazaar, Blaze Media, The Next Web, Adweek, Latia Curry Harrison on LinkedIn, Overturned, @moranstephen1000.bsky.social, The Gateway Pundit, @micahberman.bsky.social, Android Authority, @blumenthal.senate.gov, The US Sun, France 24, CBS News, Fox News, The Atlantic, @dorismatsui.bsky.social, @wajali.bsky.social, Tea Mustać on LinkedIn, Tom's Guide, @shokes.bsky.social, Dexerto, @veni.dev, Nerdist, Metro.co.uk, Entrepreneur, Profit, @joshsternberg.com, Engadget, @ericklinenberg.bsky.social, Mashable, Scientific American, @ubiquity75.xyz, KMUW, @stefan@stefanbohacek.online, TechCrunch, Rolling Stone, CNN, CNET, Washington Post, Variety, Courthouse News Service, @jamespmcleod.ca, MS NOW, Fox Business, NBC News, Christian Science Monitor, Reuters, Baller Alert, The American Conservative, Public Citizen, FOX 32 Chicago, Associated Press and WPXI-TV, more at Techmeme »
Christopher St. Aubin / Pew Research Center:
Survey: when breaking news happens, 36% of US adults turn first to their preferred news outlet for more info, 28% use search engines, and 19% use social media — The Pew-Knight Initiative supports new research on how Americans absorb civic information, form beliefs and identities, and engage in their communities.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
In its 2026-2027 plan, the BBC says it plans to cut its cost base by 10%, suggesting cuts worth up to £600M, and increase content spend by £180M to £2.7B — The BBC has sounded the alarm about potentially significant content cuts. … The BBC has only defined the savings figure …
Adrià Calatayud / Wall Street Journal:
Bertelsmann, owner of Penguin Random House, RTL, and BMG, reports 2025 after-tax profit of €1.01B, down from €1.04B in 2024, and revenue flat YoY at €18.96B — With the acquisition of Sky Deutschland revenues would reach approximately €21 billion in the 2026 financial year, CEO Thomas Rabe says
Discussion:
Publishing Perspectives, Billboard and Bloomberg
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
WBD sets April 23 for a shareholder meeting to vote on its sale to Paramount; WBD shareholders would receive $31 per share, up 147% from the “unaffected” price — WBD said it started mailing definitive proxy statements to shareholders ahead of the meeting where stockholders …
Discussion:
Reuters, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter and MediaBrief
Local News Initiative:
A podcast transcript with Steve Grove, the Minnesota Star Tribune CEO and publisher and an ex-Google executive, and Tim Franklin, on retaining readers and more — In the inaugural episode of the Medill State of Local News Podcast, host Tim Franklin—Professor, John M. Mutz Chair in Local News …
Discussion:
Tim Franklin on LinkedIn
Jon Creamer / Televisual:
Sony Pictures plans to close VFX and virtual production company Pixomondo and integrate some of its resources into other areas; Sony purchased Pixomondo in 2022 — Sony Pictures-owned vfx and virtual production company, Pixomondo, is to be “wound down” by Sony.
Discussion:
Dan Lazarow on LinkedIn, Animation World Network and Deadline
Noor Ibrahim / Marie Claire:
Q&A with Wendy McMahon, who resigned last year as CEO and president of CBS News and Stations, on CBS under Bari Weiss, the pace of change for news, and more — In her first in-depth interview since stepping down, the former CBS News President gets candid about her exit, Bari Weiss and the future of news.
Discussion:
@jayrosen.bsky.social
Zoya Sheftalovich / Politico:
Internal email: Politico reviewed security after an off-the-record call between a reporter and an EU official was apparently intercepted and posted to YouTube — “Our internal reviews have found no evidence that any devices, networks or systems have been compromised,” POLITICO says in email to staff.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Reddit says it will label automated accounts that are providing a service to users and will require accounts suspected of being bots to verify if they are human — Would-be Reddit competitor Digg just shut down because it couldn't get a handle on the bots overrunning its site.
Discussion:
Tech Times, CyberInsider, WinBuzzer, PCMag, MediaNama, The Indian Express, Help Net Security, Digital Trends, Mashable, Ars Technica, Livemint, Neowin, 9to5Mac, Engadget, The Verge and spez on Reddit, more at Techmeme »
