Lauren Feiner
@laurenfeiner.bsky.social
Covering tech policy @theverge.com | Formerly @CNBC.com | she/her | Tips? Find me on Signal @ laurenfeiner.64 (no PR pitches via Signal please)
It was great to join @audiecornish.bsky.social on @cnn.com to break down why the latest kids online safety trial against Meta could be its most significant. State AGs bringing this case could seek $200 billion in damages, and — perhaps more importantly — sweeping changes to Meta's apps.
New: Flock is rolling out a series of policy changes addressing police abuse of data it collects through roadside cameras. In an interview, the CEO Garrett Langley told me why he's come around to to mandating new guardrails on the platform, even before laws catch up. www.theverge.com/policy/97933...
Flock CEO: ‘We got this one wrong’
Garrett Langley has changed his mind on the company’s policy approach.
theverge.com
Support for bell-to-bell cellphone bans is growing, and more than three-quarters of American adults support in-class bans. www.theverge.com/policy/97260...
Full school day cellphone bans are more popular than ever
Most adults across age groups support an in-class ban.
theverge.com
New York's AG just laid out how a law banning "addictive" feeds for teens will work. Social media platforms will need to make sure users are adults before offering them access to algorithmically curated feeds, or nighttime notifications, beginning early next year. www.theverge.com/policy/97200...
New Yorkers will soon need to verify their age to access algorithmic feeds
Platforms must give users an option besides uploading their government ID.
theverge.com
Apple's parental controls announcement at WWDC hits on a key part of the policy debate about who should be responsible for protecting kids online. www.theverge.com/policy/94633...
Apple’s new parental controls are for keeping Apple out of trouble
Apple may be reading the writing on the wall.
theverge.com
In the face of widespread backlash to the AI data center buildout throughout the US, Google is touting its efforts to minimize the environmental impact by actually increasing water for local communities. Read more from @laurenfeiner.bsky.social:
AI has a water problem — Google thinks it has a fix
Environmental concerns are a big driver behind Americans’ opposition to data centers.
theverge.com
The next big social media trial that was slated for June is off after the Kentucky school district plaintiff settled with Meta, YouTube, Snap, and TikTok. It's still just one of many. Next state case is up in July, and the first federal one now in January. www.theverge.com/policy/93555...
One of Meta’s big legal reckonings just ended in a settlement
YouTube, Snap, and TikTok also settled, but there’s still thousands of cases on deck.
theverge.com
Hundreds of thousands of workplaces use software to monitor employees. Now, a new study has found that many of these tools share data not just with employers, but with digital advertising platforms and data brokers as well. Read more from @laurenfeiner.bsky.social:
Meta and Google get data from the app your boss uses to track you
Workers are often even more vulnerable than consumers, the researchers say.
theverge.com
@laurenfeiner.bsky.social reports for @theverge.com on the lawsuit we and @protectdemocracy.org brought on behalf of @thecoalition.bsky.social. The case challenges a U.S. immigration policy targeting noncitizen researchers for their work studying social media. Read: www.theverge.com/policy/93017...
Pinterest fired two engineers accused of writing a custom script that exposed their recently laid-off colleagues. One of those fired workers is going public for the first time, saying Pinterest mischaracterized the events leading up to his firing. (Gift link) www.theverge.com/policy/90612...
Pinterest said he violated laid-off colleagues’ privacy. Now he’s going public
The fired engineer says there’s more to the story.
theverge.com
Had a great time joining Decoder with @reckless.bsky.social and @caseynewton.bsky.social to dissect the really tricky question of what happens now that Meta's lost two jury trials over its product design.
Sean Hollister@seanhollister.bsky.social · 5mo agoThis might be the most important thing you read about tech this week/month/year. What happens next could reshape the internet and society, and @reckless.bsky.social @caseynewton.bsky.social @laurenfeiner.bsky.social lay it out expertly. www.theverge.com/podcast/9051...
At the beginning of Trump's second term, many in the odd coalition of antitrust populists still had hope that aggressive enforcement would continue, albeit with changes. At the antitrust bar's annual convening in DC last week, that hope seemed deflated www.theverge.com/policy/90522...
The Trump administration’s antitrust honeymoon is over
Don’t expect aggressive enforcement in the next three years, a fired Trump administration official said.
theverge.com
Huge result here - the idea that social platforms can be defective products that cause harm is going to send shockwaves through an industry that has claimed essentially blanket protection from liability by saying everything is speech
Lauren Feiner@laurenfeiner.bsky.social · 5mo agoWow - huge win across the board for plaintiff Kaley G.M. in the landmark social media addiction case against Meta and YouTube. On the heels of Meta's loss in New Mexico just the day before. www.theverge.com/policy/90065...
The jury found the companies’ negligence was a substantial factor in harms like the mental health issues sustained by a now 20-year-old woman Kaley G.M., who used Instagram and YouTube. Read more from @laurenfeiner.bsky.social:
Meta and YouTube found negligent in landmark social media addiction case
It’s the first of several bellwether cases to test such claims.
theverge.com
Wow - huge win across the board for plaintiff Kaley G.M. in the landmark social media addiction case against Meta and YouTube. On the heels of Meta's loss in New Mexico just the day before. www.theverge.com/policy/90065...
Meta and YouTube found negligent in landmark social media addiction case
It’s the first of several bellwether cases to test such claims.
theverge.com
The first landmark verdict in a product safety case against Meta just came down in New Mexico. The jury answered in favor of the state on every question it was asked to decide, and awarded a $375 million penalty, though that's short of the $2 billion the state sought www.theverge.com/policy/89991...
Meta misled users about its products’ safety, jury decides
The jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in penalties.
theverge.com
At social media addiction trial, after seven days of deliberating, the jury says they are having difficulty coming to a consensus on one defendant, and they ask how to move forward. The judge read them instructions to keep deliberating.
"Section 230 is not one of the Ten Commandments,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said. www.theverge.com/policy/89710...
Congress considers blowing up internet law
One senator noted “the door swings both ways” when it comes to jawboning.
theverge.com
After a chaotic week following the Justice Department’s mid-trial settlement with Live Nation-Ticketmaster, the antitrust trial picked back up surprisingly smoothly — this time, with dozens of states leading the case. Read more from @laurenfeiner.bsky.social:
The Live Nation trial restarts with a ‘velvet hammer’
It was a relatively smooth restart after a chaotic week.
theverge.com
States got the Live Nation trial back up and running today www.theverge.com/policy/89577...
The Live Nation trial restarts with a ‘velvet hammer’
It was a relatively smooth restart after a chaotic week.
theverge.com
While Mark Zuckerberg was testifying in an LA courtroom last month about whether Meta's products addict teens, I spent most of the day talking with parents who didn't get a seat in the courtroom about why they came so far, just for a glimpse at the CEO (gift link) www.theverge.com/policy/89393...
What it was like to watch grieving parents stare down Mark Zuckerberg in court
The most coveted ticket in LA was for a downtown courthouse.
theverge.com
Very important made in here - even if this LN/TM settlement falls apart, and the case goes forward, and LV/TM end up completely separated - it STILL doesnt mean ticket prices will be significantly lower, or easier to get. The main problem with ticket prices is a low supply / high demand problem.
Lauren Feiner@laurenfeiner.bsky.social · 5mo agoWe'll hear by Friday afternoon what the status of the states' settlement talks with Live Nation is, and whether they'll be back at trial Monday. In the meantime, here's what some industry stakeholders and experts are saying about the DOJ settlement: www.theverge.com/policy/89327...
“The theme today in the discussions I’ve had with partner organizations and members has been this: Who asked for this?” Read more from @laurenfeiner.bsky.social:
The Live Nation settlement has industry insiders baffled
Live Nation-Ticketmaster critics are still pushing for a breakup.
theverge.com
We'll hear by Friday afternoon what the status of the states' settlement talks with Live Nation is, and whether they'll be back at trial Monday. In the meantime, here's what some industry stakeholders and experts are saying about the DOJ settlement: www.theverge.com/policy/89327...
The Live Nation settlement has industry insiders baffled
Live Nation-Ticketmaster critics are still pushing for a breakup.
theverge.com
It was an eventful morning in court at US v. Live Nation. DOJ reached a settlement, 28 AGs are filing for mistrial and pushing forward, and the judge said he should have been informed about all this much earlier. More here: www.theverge.com/policy/89137...
Live Nation settles government antitrust suit — that probably doesn’t include a breakup
Will Swifties sign off on the settlement?
theverge.com
Cut off the left arm, and the right arm will swing back. That's how two concert venue execs described Live Nation-Ticketmaster's tactics. When the venues considered switching from Ticketmaster, they said, the ticketer threatened they'd lose Live Nation shows www.theverge.com/policy/88972...
Did Live Nation punish a venue by taking Billie Eilish away?
The DOJ played a recording of a tense call with the Live Nation CEO in court.
theverge.com
