A $6 million verdict against Meta and Google in a closely watched social media addiction trial may signal the start of a far broader legal threat for the tech giants.

A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found both companies liable for designing addictive platforms for young users, awarding $3 million in compensatory damages and another $3 million in punitive damages.

Monte Mann, a business trial lawyer at Armstrong Teasdale, said appeals are expected, but the larger implications could be far more consequential.

“I think the verdict will immediately be cited in other cases across the country because now plaintiffs have a roadmap of this theory being validated by a jury,” Mann told FOX Business.

JURY FINDS META, GOOGLE LIABLE IN LANDMARK SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION TRIAL, AWARDS MORE THAN $6M IN DAMAGES

The ruling is likely to spur a new wave of lawsuits across the country and intensify pressure to settle existing cases, according to Mann.

“I think you’re going to see a flood of aggressive filings,” Mann said. “This verdict is going to attract additional claims and accelerate all the existing ones.”

While the damages in this case total $6 million, Mann warned that the broader financial exposure could be enormous.

“The real story here is what comes next,” he said. “If this theory holds true across multiple cases, you’re no longer talking about millions of dollars, you’re talking about hundreds of millions or potentially billions in aggregate liability for these companies.”

Large-scale liability often grows from a single breakthrough case, according to Mann.

META ORDERED TO PAY $375M AFTER JURY FINDS PLATFORM ENABLED CHILD PREDATORS IN LANDMARK NEW MEXICO CASE

“So, for companies of this size, the individual verdict from California today is manageable. It’s a nothing, but the systematic risk is absolutely gigantic,” he said.

A key factor in the case was the plaintiffs’ strategy to focus on product design rather than user-generated content.

Instead of challenging what users post, an area largely protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the lawsuit targeted how the platforms are built, according to Mann.

“This is a direct hit on Big Tech’s core defense that [they’re] just neutral platforms. The jury didn’t buy that,” Mann said.

The jury also concluded that the platforms were a substantial factor in causing harm, clearing a major legal hurdle, according to Mann.

“If juries are willing to find causation this way, you’re going to see exposure expand very quickly in these cases,” Mann said.

JUDGE BLOCKS META FROM INTRODUCING ‘EXAGGERATED’ CLAIMS IN SOCIAL MEDIA TRIAL

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Google told FOX Business it plans to appeal the verdict.

“We disagree with the verdict and plan to appeal,” a company spokesperson said. “This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.”

Meta did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.

FOX Business’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Iran nationals with valid visitor (subclass 600) visas have now been barred from entering Australia for the next six months.

The announcement was made by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

Iranians With Valid Visitor Visas Banned For Six Months

According to a report by The Guardian, around 6,800 Iranians with valid visitor visas will be affected by the ban.

It should be noted, however, that this only applies to those who hold visas and are outside Australia.

“There are many visitor visas, which were issued before the conflict in Iran which may not have been issued if they were applied for now,” Burke said during the announcement.

“Decisions about permanent stays in Australia should be deliberate decisions of the government, not a random consequence of who had booked a holiday,” he added.

The minister also emphasized that “The Australian government is closely monitoring global developments and will adjust settings as required to ensure Australia’s migration system remains orderly, fair and sustainable.”

According to ABC News, the Albanese government has been concerned that some Iranians with temporary visas will be “unable or unlikely” to leave Australia once their visas expire due to Iran’s ongoing conflict with Israel and the United States.

Are There Exemptions?

As ABC News notes in its report, there are exemptions to the ban imposed against Iranians.

First, Iranians who are already traveling or transiting in the country will be exempt from the ban.

Iranians who are spouses or dependent children of Australian citizens and permanent visa holders will likewise be exempted.

In addition, the government will give “sympathetic consideration” to Iranian parents of Australian citizens.

Burke also clarified that some Iranians on visitor visas may be given “permitted travel certificates,” but this will be case-to-case basis.

Networks of foreign nationals may be linked to U.S. hospice fraud, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz warned Wednesday in a FOX Business special, pointing to one major city as a key area of concern.

“You have to ask yourself exactly how many people are actually dying in Los Angeles,” Oz told host David Asman.

“[There are] almost 2,000 hospices in LA County. We believe half of them could be fraudulent, and the reason for this is because Los Angeles and the state of California, who regulates these hospices, was tolerant.”

Oz continued, accusing state and local regulators of being “perfectly fine” with the issue. He then suggested who could be responsible.

FETTERMAN PRAISES FORMER SENATE OPPONENT DR OZ FOR ROOTING OUT MEDICAID FRAUD

“We believe that many of them are created by the Russian mafia. In fact, when you try to bust these folks, sometimes foreign nationals run back to their own country,” he shared.

Such accusations have drawn ire from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. 

Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon fired back in a statement to Fox News Digital earlier this month, writing, “While MAGA bloggers and idiots like Dr. Oz may have just discovered hospice fraud, California has been cracking down in this space for years.”

PHILADELPHIA MEN REPEATEDLY TRAVELED TO MINNEAPOLIS TO CARRY OUT $3.5M HOUSING FRAUD SCHEME: DOJ

“In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law banning ALL new hospice licenses. That moratorium is still in place, blocking bad actors from entering the system while the state tightens oversight of existing providers,” Gardon continued.

“Under the governor’s leadership, the state launched a multi-agency Hospice Fraud Task Force bringing together CDPH, CalHHS, DHCS, DSS and the California Department of Justice to make arrests, share intelligence, investigate fraud and coordinate enforcement.”

Gardon noted that more than 280 hospice licenses had been revoked in the last two years. Additionally, the Newsom spokesperson said 300 more providers were under investigation for potential revocation.

CVS CAREMARK ORDERED TO PAY $290M AFTER MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEME EXPOSED BY FORMER AETNA WHISTLEBLOWER

State officials have noted that their own investigations resulted in 109 criminal charges and 24 civil fraud cases since California Attorney General Rob Bonta assumed office, according to FOX 11 in Los Angeles.

Newsom additionally filed a civil rights complaint against Oz for claims made against Armenian communities in the Golden State earlier this year, alleging Oz had “spewed baseless and racially charged allegations” that could potentially discourage the use of hospice and home care programs.

The legal tussle stems from a video in which Oz visited Los Angeles’ Van Nuys neighborhood, calling out a nearby four-block radius that he claimed was home to 42 hospices, suggesting potential fraud at the hands of what he described as the “Russian Armenian mafia.”

But Oz says the fraud issue is not isolated to California.

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“In Flushing, [New York], I just mentioned we think the Chinese government might be involved. In southern Florida, where you have twice as many durable medical equipment suppliers as McDonald’s, we think the Cuban government’s involved,” he told Asman.

Fraud concerns have become a growing focus for the Trump administration, following high-profile cases in states like Minnesota, which have prompted broader conversations about the use of taxpayer dollars and government accountability.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.

Mumbai: India’s headline equity indices extended gains to the second straight day, recouping in two sessions nearly a third of the losses made since the start of the West Asia conflict, and restoring about Rs 16.15 lakh crore in market capitalisation. Investors have regained some confidence across Asian markets on cooling crude oil prices and talk of communication between the US and Iran aimed at bringing an end to the war.

The NSE Nifty rose 394 points, or 1.7%, to close at 23,306.45 on Wednesday. Analysts said the recovery could continue over the next few days and the Nifty may go up to 23,800 in the coming days. The BSE Sensex rose 1,205 points, or 1.6%, to end at 75,273.45. Over the last two sessions, the two indices have risen nearly 3.5% each.

Both had fallen almost 10.6% each from the start of the conflict until Monday. Since February 28, when the war began, market cap in India is down ₹32.87 lakh crore.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan was up 2.9%, China advanced 1.3%, Hong Kong rose 1.1%, South Korea gained 1.6% and Taiwan rose 2.5%. The pan-Europe index Stoxx 600 was up 1.5% at press time.

Analysts Suggest Extended Recovery

Wall Street’s main indices were also on an upward trajectory as of press time.
“The recent de-escalation in the West Asian conflict suggests that the worst may be behind us,” said Pankaj Pandey, head of fundamental research at ICICI Direct. “While the situation remains fluid and a formal ceasefire is still awaited, markets are likely to extend their recovery in the near term, barring any fresh adverse developments.”
Chandan Taparia, head of technical and derivatives research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said markets are likely to extend their recovery in the near term as long as the Nifty holds above 23,000 levels.
Taparia said that a move toward 23,850 appears possible as the index emerges from oversold zones and is showing signs of a bullish divergent pattern. “However, an elevated volatility index remains a concern, which is yet to ease despite the market’s recovery,” he said.

India Volatility Index (VIX) – popularly known as the fear gauge – fell marginally by 0.4% to 24.64 levels. Normally, VIX cools off when indices rise, and a higher level may indicate traders remain cautious about the future.

“However, as crude oil prices may take longer to stabilise, the recovery is unlikely to be V-shaped. That said, over the next three to six months, we expect losses stemming from the conflict to be largely recouped,” said Pandey.

He said the recovery is likely to be led by autos, metals and BFSI (banking, financial services, insurance), with large-cap stocks offering the most favourable risk-reward profile.

“Investors may consider waiting for greater stability before increasing exposure to mid and small-cap stocks,” Pandey said.

Mumbai | New Delhi: Global technology firms, sovereign wealth funds and private equity investors are set to offload 250-252 million shares or a total of nearly 2.8% stake in Jio Platforms Ltd’s upcoming initial public offer (IPO), people aware of the details told ET.

The IPO, estimated at a reported $4 billion, will be an offer for sale (OFS) that provides an exit for early investors rather than looking to raise fresh capital, said the people cited.

No Full Exits On Cards
Divestments in what’s expected to be one of India’s biggest IPOs will be proportionately spread across Jio’s 14 marquee investors, with each trimming roughly 8-8.5% of their holdings. None of the existing shareholders will make a full exit. “The company is looking to file the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) on Friday depending on the timing of the legal vetting,” said one of the persons.

Promoter Reliance Industries (RIL) is not looking to cut its 67% holding in Jio Platforms, the holding company for India’s biggest mobile phone operator Reliance Jio Infocomm and other digital businesses, said the people cited. The majority of the shares will be sold by Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta Platforms, through its entity Jaadhu holdings, and Google, they being the larger outside stakeholders. After the offer, Meta is likely to see its stake reduced to 9.1% from 9.98% while Google may trim its stake to around 7% from 7.73%.
Jio, Google and Meta didn’t respond to queries.
The stakes of investors such as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Vista Equity, Omicron Asia Holdings, Silver Lake, General Atlantic, ADIA-backed Platinum Jasmine Trust, TPG, Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures will get lowered proportionately, said the people. Jio is said to have nudged investors to make partial exits. “All the investors wanted to stay and hence the company made a decision to trim stakes uniformly across the board,” one of the persons said.
The combined shareholding of outside investors will drop to about 30% from 32.9% after the IPO. Investment banks have pegged Jio Platforms’ post-IPO valuation at $133-180 billion. However, analyst estimates have fluctuated, depending on market conditions.

Rapid Expansion
In 2020, Jio Platforms raised more than ₹1.5 lakh crore ($20 billion) from 13 global investors in a rapid fundraising round.

A class action lawsuit filed against Fanatics, the NFL, NBA, MLB, their respective players associations and OneTeam, which serves as the commercial vehicle for the players associations, was dismissed by a New York federal judge on all counts Monday. 

The court granted Fanatics’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which involved five plaintiffs — Robert Scaturo, Scott Bubnick, Joseph Davidov, Steven Mardakhaev and Jonathan Madar. 

The suit accused the group of conspiring to monopolize the ever-growing trading card market for each of the sports leagues mentioned, increasing the price of cards for millions of consumers worldwide. 

It also largely followed an antitrust lawsuit by Panini, Fanatics’ trading card and memorabilia competitor, citing portions of it throughout. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXBUSINESS.COM

Chief U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled that “none of the named plaintiffs adequately allege that they have overpaid or will imminently overpay for trading cards sold by defendants.”

“We said from the start that this was a baseless and fundamentally flawed lawsuit since Fanatics was being accused of raising prices on cards we didn’t even produce,” a Fanatics spokesperson told Fox Business after the ruling Monday. “The court agreed and ruled that the plaintiffs did not even have standing to sue. We are happy the court has now ruled the complaint legally deficient and dismissed it.” 

FANATICS COUNTERSUES PANINI AMERICA AFTER ANTITRUST LAWSUIT IN LATEST DRAMA WITHIN TRADING CARD INDUSTRY

Within its ruling, the court also recognized that, when the lawsuit was filed in March 2025, Panini held the licenses for NFL and NBA trading cards. Topps, which was acquired by Fanatics in 2022 for a reported value of about $500 million, had yet to produce NBA-licensed trading cards until October 2025. Additionally, the NFL license for trading cards won’t move to Topps until April of this year. 

“Not only did no named Plaintiff purchase such a trading card from Defendants prior to the filing of the FAC, but it was actually impossible for any consumer to do so,” Taylor Swain wrote in the court’s ruling. 

As for the price-gouging argument regarding MLB cards, the court found the plaintiffs failed to “explain whether the difference in prices was traceable to extraneous factors, such as production costs or quality differences, or whether the difference was traceable to Defendants’ anticompetitive conduct.” The plaintiffs provided a chart to compare prices of Topps’ licensed cards and Panini’s unlicensed products. 

The plaintiff’s attorney, John Radice, told The Athletic his clients are “assessing the court’s dismissal without prejudice and considering all options.”

While this class action lawsuit was dismissed, Panini remains fighting its own lawsuit against Fanatics, accusing it of anticompetitive behavior and monopolization of the sports card industry. This came after Fanatics acquired exclusive licensing rights from the NBA and NFL, which were previously held by Panini. After April 2026, Fanatics will have exclusive licenses to NBA, NFL, MLB, Premier League, F1 and WWE. 

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Fanatics denied Panini’s claims and filed a countersuit alleging its competitor set out on a “protracted, unlawful, and deceitful campaign of unfair trade practices, strong-arm tactics, and tortious misconduct” in an attempt to force Fanatics to pay a vast amount for Panini to end its licenses in 2022. 

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The 22 companies that got high marks across the board in the

Where You Work Matters List share several practices, from hiring people early in their careers to training them relentlessly and aiding their advancement.

The list, created by the Burning Glass Institute and the Schultz Family Foundation, seeks to evaluate how good companies are for early-career opportunities, career growth and job stability.

Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, recovering part of the previous session’s losses as markets reassessed the likelihood of de-escalation in the Middle East. Iran indicated it is still reviewing a U.S. proposal aimed at ending the conflict, which has disrupted global energy flows.

Even as it reviews the proposal, Iran has no plans to engage in talks to end the expanding conflict, its foreign minister said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Washington would intensify pressure if Tehran does not accept that it has been “defeated militarily,” according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Crude oil price on March 26

Brent crude futures gained $1.13, or 1.1%, to $103.35 a barrel by 0051 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.08, or 1.2%, to $91.40 a barrel. Both benchmarks had fallen more than 2% on Wednesday.Iran said U.S. outreach appeared significant, keeping oil markets highly sensitive to further developments in negotiations and military actions.

The reported 15-point proposal from Trump, delivered via Pakistan, includes demands such as eliminating Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, halting enrichment activities, restricting its ballistic missile programme and cutting funding to regional allies, according to three Israeli cabinet sources familiar with the plan.
The conflict has severely disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route that typically handles around one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. The International Energy Agency has described the situation as the largest oil supply disruption on record.
Iran has outlined a set of conditions for ending the conflict, stating that the first requirement is a complete halt to attacks and assassinations. It has called for firm guarantees to prevent any recurrence of war, along with a clear mechanism to assess and ensure compensation for war-related damages. Tehran also emphasised that hostilities must end not only against Iran but also against resistance groups across the region.
Additionally, it has demanded recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Until these conditions are met, Iran said its defensive operations will continue.

Further tightening supply concerns, about 40% of Russia’s oil export capacity remains offline following Ukrainian drone strikes, a disputed pipeline attack and tanker seizures, based on Reuters calculations using market data.

What lies ahead?

International brokerage Macquarie has said that even if tensions ease in the near term, oil prices are likely to find support in the $85–$90 range, with a gradual move back toward $110 until normal flows through the Strait of Hormuz resume. The note added that if disruptions persist through April, Brent could still climb to $150 per barrel.

Looking ahead, crude prices could move higher from current levels. According to Kayanat Chainwala of Kotak Securities, oil may rise to $120 per barrel in the near term and potentially touch $150 if the conflict continues.

Nuvama Institutional Equities echoes the same view. The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which handles around 20 million barrels per day, could push crude prices to the $110–150 per barrel range.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)