META LEGAL BATTLES
Apple beats sales and profit expectations but AI costs weigh on holiday sales
Apple exceeded analysts' expectations for its latest results on Monday when the iPhone-maker said it notched a "revenue record" for the July-September quarter, driven by iPhone sales and services revenue, but increased costs related to AI will drag down margins. This includes primarily the impact of higher memory costs, as well as some costs related to the ramp of Siri AI," Parekh said.
87 million Facebook users & political targeting: What was the Cambridge Analytica scandal that is back in focus as Meta faces a $25 billion hit
Meta Platforms has been ordered to pay $25 billion for misleading consumers about data privacy in New Mexico. The ruling follows a jury finding that the company misrepresented access to personal information. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez initiated the case, citing violations of consumer protection laws. This penalty is one of the largest ever imposed on a company by a state.
Apple names Meta veteran Scott Tucker as litigation chief in legal team shake-up
Apple has hired former Meta litigation chief Scott Tucker as vice president of global litigation and financial services, strengthening its legal leadership amid mounting antitrust, patent and other lawsuits. The appointment is part of a broader reorganisation under General Counsel Jennifer Newstead, as the iPhone maker faces legal setbacks threatening its services business.
Texas Republicans turn against data centers, putting Big Tech on notice
In a surprising turn, Republican leaders are now standing against data center projects due to increasing public resistance. This development coincides with a surge of support for Democrats from local communities opposing such facilities. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has advocated for tighter restrictions on data centers. Big tech firms are investing heavily to combat unfavorable public opinion, highlighting the emerging political divide among Republicans.
What if Meta loses trial? Penalties may top $1.4 trillion, matching its market cap
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is being sued by a bipartisan coalition of states on allegations of deceiving the public and designing the apps to encourage compulsive use among young users.
Lawyers square off in fight over voice data used to train AI
Ross Kimbarovsky of Loevy & Loevy is representing the plaintiffs - a group of journalists, podcasters and audiobook narrators - in the proposed class action lawsuits. He said each of the defendants faces hundreds of millions of dollars in potential damages.
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A look at major lawsuits against Meta, other social media companies over harms to kids
In a federal trial beginning Tuesday in Oakland, California, the Instagram and Facebook parent company is fighting claims that it has contributed to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing features that get children addicted.
Meta, YouTube, TikTok face thousands of lawsuits in the US over kids’ mental health: What we know
Major social media firms face thousands of lawsuits across the United States. These legal actions allege platforms are designed to addict young users and harm mental health. Nearly every US state and over a thousand school districts have filed these complaints. Individual cases and bellwether trials are testing company responsibility for user well-being.
ETtech Explainer: Meta's stop-start strategy for its open source AI models
Glimmer, a 30-billion-parameter model, is much smaller than leading AI models from rivals and is designed for agentic tasks. It can run on a Mac or PC with a single graphics card, aiming to tap into demand for artificial intelligence (AI) systems that run directly on people's devices.
Meta misses profit expectations, sticks to massive AI spending
The Facebook and Instagram parent company reported free cash flow of $784 million in the second quarter ended June 30, down from $8.55 billion a year earlier, sending its shares down 10% in extended trading.
Meta disregarded its own research on teen harm, Tennessee tells jury
The lawsuit, filed by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office, seeks financial penalties and a court order directing Instagram to modify aspects of the platform that the state says are harmful to teens' mental health. If the jury finds the company liable, the trial will enter a second phase before the judge overseeing the trial, who will decide whether to order the company to pay financial penalties and make changes to Instagram to make it safer for teens.
India issues stern notice to Meta over Instagram ads carrying child sexual abuse material
The Indian government has issued a stern notice to Meta, demanding an explanation after reports surfaced of child sexual abuse material appearing in paid advertisements on Instagram. This intensified scrutiny targets the social media giant's content moderation and ad approval systems. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed officials to investigate how such content was displayed, raising serious concerns about platform safety policies and enforcement.
Ashwini Vaishnaw directs MeitY to summon Meta regarding Instagram ads promoting child sexual abuse material
India's IT Ministry has summoned Meta over allegations that Instagram ads promoted child sexual abuse material. Officials are also concerned about WhatsApp's usernames feature being used for phishing and scams, prompting a demand for a pause on the feature's rollout. Meanwhile, the government is also investigating a cyberattack at Tata Electronics and considering an independent law for AI regulation.
Mark Zuckerberg 'personally authorised' Meta's copyright infringement, publishers allege
Publishing giants and author Scott Turow have sued Meta and Mark Zuckerberg. They allege Meta illegally used millions of copyrighted books to train its AI system, Llama. The lawsuit claims Meta infringed copyright without permission or compensation. Meta vows to fight the suit aggressively, stating AI training on copyrighted material can be fair use.
US Stocks: Meta shares drop 7% on fears US verdicts open door to deluge of lawsuits
Meta Platforms shares tumbled 7% after two verdicts found the social media giant liable for harm to young users. These rulings, totaling hundreds of millions in fines, could expose Meta to extensive litigation by targeting platform design, potentially leading to billions in damages and forcing significant business practice changes.
Meta grants senior executives stock awards to retain talent
The pay boost comes as Meta, like other major tech firms, races to gain an edge in AI, intensifying a battle for senior talent. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing the company to compete more forcefully in generative AI.
Elon Musk tried to enlist Mark Zuckerberg to help finance $100b OpenAI bid
Elon Musk's attempt to acquire OpenAI earlier this year involved an unsolicited bid of nearly $100 billion, with Mark Zuckerberg considered as a potential financier. Despite Musk's efforts to enlist Zuckerberg and other wealthy allies, the bid was ultimately rejected by OpenAI's board in February.
AI and copyrights: The fight for fair use
Big tech firms like Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic face lawsuits over using copyrighted books to train AI without permission. Courts are examining "fair use" in AI training, with mixed rulings. Authors demand payment, while companies claim fair use, sparking ongoing legal battles over AI and copyright rights.
Eminem’s publisher drags Meta to court over copyright violation
Eminem's publisher, Eight Mile Style, has sued Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for allegedly infringing on the copyrights of 243 Eminem songs. The lawsuit claims Meta enabled users to illegally incorporate the tracks into their content, seeking $109.35 million in damages. Meta claims to have licenses and was negotiating with Eight Mile Style before the lawsuit.
US prepares to challenge Meta's social media dominance
Meta has countered that it faces ample competition in social media from TikTok, Snap, Reddit and LinkedIn, and that regulators approved the acquisitions at the time. The company also hasn't given up on settling the case: Early this month, Zuckerberg was at the White House to try to persuade the Trump administration to avert a trial.
Meta sued for alleged hiring bias in favor of foreign workers on H-1B visas
A US federal judge has ruled that Meta Platforms must face a lawsuit alleging it prioritizes hiring foreign workers over Americans to reduce labor costs. Plaintiffs claim Meta favored H-1B visa holders, while the company denies intentional discrimination. The case highlights broader concerns over tech companies' reliance on H-1B workers.
Meta layoffs 2025: Facebook parent to cut 3,600 jobs in major workforce reshuffle – What it means for employees
Meta layoffs 2025 are set to impact around 3,600 employees, marking another major job cut by the tech giant. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has emphasized the need for a high-performing workforce, with layoffs targeting underperforming employees. As other tech giants like Microsoft and Boeing also announce job cuts, Meta’s decision reflects a broader industry trend. What does this mean for employees and the future of Meta?
Facebook-parent Meta settles with Australia's privacy watchdog over Cambridge Analytica lawsuit
Australia's privacy regulator has been caught up in the legal battle with Meta since 2020. The personal data of 311,127 Australian Facebook users was "exposed to the risk of being disclosed" to consulting firm Cambridge Analytica and used for profiling purposes, according to the 2020 statement.
Trump effect? Have Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg ganged up to take on Satya Nadella and Sam Altman backed OpenAI; here's what happened
Meta Platforms and Elon Musk are battling OpenAI in a heated dispute over its decision to transition to a for-profit company.
Meta documents show 100,000 kids sexually harassed daily on Facebook, Instagram
A recent court case concerning child abuse on Meta's Facebook and Instagram apps claimed that an internal company estimate from 2021 indicated that up to 100,000 children were subjected to sexual harassment on the platforms on a daily basis, including images of adult genitalia.
Meta-FTC privacy lawsuit: US federal judge rules against social media giant
The FTC proposed changing a settlement reached in 2019 which required Facebook to pay $5 billion. The FTC said it would tighten that to bar Facebook from making money off data collected on users under age 18, including in its virtual reality business. It would also face expanded limitations on using facial recognition technology.
Mental trauma: African content moderators push Big Tech on rights
The first union for content moderators in Africa has been established in Nairobi with the aim of improving working conditions and holding Big Tech accountable. The union, which was formed with the help of former Facebook moderator Daniel Motaung, is fighting against the exploitation of workers by tech firms, particularly in terms of mental health and wages.
Meta's Threads app might integrate branded content tools from Instagram to boost paid partnership opportunities
Instagram's new platform Threads will include branded content tools, allowing influencers and marketers to collaborate on paid partnerships. Although Threads does not offer traditional advertising opportunities, several companies have already started posting content on the platform.
Europe signs off on a new privacy pact that allows people's data to keep flowing to US
Under the deal, U.S. intelligence agencies' access to data is limited to what's "necessary and proportionate" to protect national security. Europeans who suspect U.S. authorities have accessed their data will be able to complain to a new Data Protection Review Court, made up of judges appointed from outside the U.S. government. The threshold to file a complaint will be "very low" and won't require people to prove their data has been accessed, Reynders said.
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