Wall Street en nette baisse, crainte pour la croissance et l'inflation

La Bourse de New York a de nouveau terminé en nette repli vendredi, inquiète du prolongement de la guerre au Moyen-Orient et de ses effets sur l'inflation et la croissance économique aux Etats-Unis et dans le monde. #MicronTechnologyInc #WesternDigitalCorp #DJIA #SP500 #Nasdaq #Meta #Alphabet #SnapInc #SPGlobalInc #Sandisk #news

https://www.awp.ch/sharedarticles?articleid=-1978657766

yahoo news | Staggering amount wiped from Mark Zuckerberg's fortune as Meta stock falls after...

Meta’s shares slumped nearly 5 percent on Friday, erasing more than $20 billion from Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth after the company suffered two consecutive courtroom defeats. The blows sent Meta’s stock down about 13 percent for the week and stripped roughly $119 billion from its market capitalization, knocking the Facebook and Instagram owner out of the top seven U.S. firms by market value for the first time since 2023. Zuckerberg, who holds roughly a 13 percent stake, saw his fortune fall to $182.5 billion – a $21 billion drop in a single day – making him the biggest loser on the Forbes Real‑Time Billionaires list.

The first verdict came from a New Mexico jury that found Meta liable for failing to protect children from sexual predators, imposing $375 million in civil penalties. A day later, a California jury concluded that Meta and Google’s YouTube deliberately engineered addictive app features that harmed a now‑20‑year‑old woman, awarding $4.2 million in damages. Both rulings center on the companies’ design choices that keep kids hooked on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and they signal a potential “new era in internet litigation” that could open the floodgates for thousands of similar lawsuits.

Investors are nervous that these landmark cases could trigger a wave of litigation reminiscent of the tobacco industry’s legal battles, threatening further financial hits for Meta and its peers. The company, along with Google, has announced plans to appeal the decisions, but the pending lawsuits across federal and state courts — alongside a high‑profile case slated for June in California over addictive apps disrupting education — suggest mounting legal exposure for the social‑media sector. The broader implication is a shift away from the historic practice of shielding platforms from liability, as courts increasingly hold them accountable for designs that endanger young users.

Read more: https://nypost.com/2026/03/27/business/20b-erased-from-mark-zuckerbergs-fortune-meta-stock-falls-after-back-to-back-court-losses/

#markzuckerberg #meta #facebook #instagram #forbes

A 20-year-old from Chico, California, accomplished what Senate hearings, congressional subcommittees, and parent groups have tried and failed to do for years. She persuaded a jury that Instagram and YouTube were designed to keep kids hooked, and that this was done on purpose. The jury awarded $6 million in damages, with Meta responsible for 70%. What really changed the case was internal emails showing the company knew what it was doing and kept going. That is the most troubling part, not just the verdict.

There is something important that has not been said clearly enough: this case was not about content. It was about design. The algorithm, the endless scroll, and the timing of notifications were at the center. For 30 years, Section 230 has protected these companies by treating them as neutral pipes. Now, this jury decided the pipe itself is the problem.

Hundreds of similar lawsuits are waiting in line. The first federal trial is set for June in San Francisco. For the first time, Zuckerberg took the stand, which probably means we will see more moments like this. Meanwhile, the plaintiff’s attorney used a jar of M&Ms to show the jury what $415 billion looks like. Was it corny? Maybe. But the jury got the point.

Tech companies have survived every regulatory threat by waiting them out. But juries are not as easy to influence.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-03-25/social-media-lawsuit-trial-meta-google-verdict
#SocialMedia #BigTech #Cybersecurity #DigitalSafety #Meta

The Big Tech verdicts you’re cheering for are actually terrible for free speech | The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression

Read this:

Declaring the target to be “design features” — such as infinite scroll or notifications — instead of speech doesn’t change things. The First Amendment isn’t fooled by synonyms, and what these lawsuits target is, inescapably, speech. Some allegations are aimed at content hosted by platforms that some perceive as harmful. And the ways platforms arrange, display, and choose how users consume content are editorial choices that are protected by the First Amendment. That those features might be designed to keep users’ attention is hardly a groundbreaking discovery. That is the point of all media. Imposing liability because speech is too appealing would be a breathtaking incursion on free speech.

https://www.fire.org/news/big-tech-verdicts-youre-cheering-are-actually-terrible-free-speech

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-27-26

https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/pook-emu-bee-links-for-03-27-26/