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:
The Conversation, International Business Times, New York Post, NextDraft, Reuters, NPR, The Times, New York Times, Techdirt, @matthewstoller, @meghanncuniff, @nicoperrino, @jason_kint, @jean_twenge, @pauljpastor, Irish Examiner, @bedoyausa, @alaneyre1, The Indian Express, JURIST, @malinowski, @meghanbobrowsky, @nicoperrino, @jillfilipovic, @vanceginn, @juliecbarrett, @parismartineau, The Hans India, @manuelguzman, @theobertram, @astupple, Silicon Republic, Bloomberg Law, @brihreed, @patterdude, Mobile World Live, The Sun Malaysia, The Japan Times, Alaska Public Media, Global News, iPhone in Canada, Tubefilter, Miami Herald, Barron's Online, PYMNTS.com, Technology & …, The Daily Signal, TODAY.com, Scientific American, KMUW, Business Insider, ZeroHedge News and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
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Cecilia Kang / New York Times:
As US lawmakers struggle to pass online safety laws, LA and New Mexico juries take the lead, holding social media companies accountable for harming young users — A pair of verdicts held social media companies accountable for harming young users, highlighting a growing backlash as Congress struggles to pass legislation.
Discussion:
Reuters, Politico, CBS News, Kelly Stonelake on LinkedIn, @digiphile.bsky.social, Miriam Buiten on LinkedIn, The Guardian, MediaNama, The Guardian, @meghanncuniff, @meghanncuniff, @juliaangwin, Town & Country, New York Times, The American Bazaar, Implicator.ai, @outfrontcnn, @michaeljstern.bsky.social, The Indian Express, Associated Press, UPI, Fortune, CNN, Deseret News, Pluribus News, Washington Times, Above the Law, SheKnows, The Next Web, Fast Company, Overturned, ABC News, Florida Politics, France 24, WinBuzzer, Entrepreneur, Axios, Mashable, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, Salt Lake Tribune, Financial Post, Public Citizen, The Week, Reason, Silicon Republic, Gulf News, Straight Arrow News, Le Monde, Nairametrics, Al Jazeera and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
The $6M LA social media verdict is a win for the plaintiffs bar, not kids or society; parenting helps mitigate the harms and most kids don't face severe issues — The verdict against Meta and YouTube is a victory for the plaintiffs bar, not for children or society.
Discussion:
eMarketer, WRDW-TV, @jstewgie.bsky.social, Yahoo Finance, Lawfare, @matthewstoller, Biometric Update, International Business Times, @astupple, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @taylorlorenz, @ennuiboy420, @eckhartsladder, @sachalouise, @venturetwins, @taylorlorenz, @wsjopinion, @reemamiribrahim, @taylorlorenz, @astupple, @michaelmcgough3, @moonchilerose, @chinatowndjake, @punishedhoots, @taylorlorenz, The Wrap, @hannahgais, @nnnnnnxox, @meghanncuniff, @Downes@mastodon.social, @astupple, @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz, @tomfitton, Reason, @matthewstoller, Pixel Envy, Hypebeast, Cafe Hayek, Deadline, National Review, CBS News, Los Angeles Times, BreakingNews, Associated Press, Financial Times, Rolling Stone, RTÉ, MS NOW, Fox Business, Mediaite and Channel NewsAsia, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix raises US prices following a January 2025 hike; standard with ads rises $1 to $8.99/month; standard with no ads and premium rise $2 to $19.99 and $26.99 — Netflix, for the second time in a little over a year, is raising prices for its three plans in the U.S. The new pricing …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, TechCrunch, The Wrap, Screen Rant, Tom's Guide, Thurrott, Los Angeles Times, AppleInsider, Engadget, CNBC, CNET, MobileSyrup, How-To Geek, Polygon.com, Ars Technica, The Verge, Cord Cutters News, The Independent, Bloomberg, MacRumors, What's Trending, Pocket-lint, Nerdist, 9to5Mac, Deadline, Android Authority, Consequence, Just Jared, Benzinga, Media Play News and Sherwood News, more at Techmeme »
Mike Scarcella / Reuters:
A US federal judge dismisses X's antitrust lawsuit that accused the World Federation of Advertisers and a group of major companies of illegally boycotting X — A U.S. judge on Thursday dismissed X Corp's antitrust lawsuit that accused the World Federation of Advertisers and a group …
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Wikipedia bans using AI for writing or rewriting articles on its English-language site, citing AI-written articles' tendency to violate “core content policies” — Wikipedia editors can only use AI for basic copy editing or translations. … Wikipedia will no longer allow editors to write or rewrite articles using AI.
Discussion:
Engadget, 404 Media, Nieman Lab, @JustinDerrick@mstdn.ca, Decrypt, MediaNama, Dexerto, International Business Times and PCWorld, more at Techmeme »
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Sony announces Jeopardy! YouTube Edition, a spinoff hosted by Ken Jennings with three YouTube creators playing for the charity of their choice — Ken Jennings will host the new edition, which will feature creators playing for a charity of their choice. — The answer: “This long-running …
Discussion:
Deadline, The Streamable, Tubefilter, @davelee.me, @dannygroner.bsky.social, TV Insider, The US Sun, Suggest, Variety, The Wrap and Media Play News
Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
PBS and ITVS launch a YouTube channel, PBS Documentaries, to distribute 100+ new videos a year, starting with a profile of Texas Congress member Barbara Jordan — The hub for nonfiction fare aims to help public television “meet new audiences where they already are,” says PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger.
Discussion:
PBS Documentaries on YouTube, Current and About PBS
Matthew Belloni / Puck:
Sources: KPop Demon Hunters directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans will together make ~$10M/year to deliver the film sequel, plus a cut of ancillary revenue — The runaway success of the animated musical was so unexpected that the streamer didn't have its creators locked in for a follow-up.
Discussion:
Polygon.com, Reuters, The Korea Times, Inc.com, TODAY.com, Creative Bloq and NME, more at Techmeme »
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:
Bloomberg, Billboard, Digital Music News and Publishing Perspectives
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
ByteDance launches its Dreamina Seedance 2.0 audio and video model in its CapCut editing platform, supporting clips up to 15 seconds across six aspect ratios — OpenAI may be dialing back its efforts in the video generation market with the shutdown of its Sora app, but ByteDance …
Discussion:
Digital Journal, @TechCrunch@mstdn.social and CapCut, more at Techmeme »
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 …
Discussion:
BBC, The Wrap and Radio Times
