Meta and YouTube Lose Landmark Social Media Trial

0:00Alex Ossola:Score more with the college branded Venmo debit card and earn up to 5 % cash back with Venmo Stash. Got paid back? With the Venmo debit card you can instantly access your balance and spend on what you want. Like game day snacks, gear, tickets and more. The more you do, the more cash back you can earn. Plus there's no monthly fee or minimum balance. Sign up now at Venmo.com slash college card. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank N.A. Select schools available. Venmo Stash terms and exclusions apply at Venmo.me slash stashterms. Max$100 cash back per month.

0:33Alex Ossola:A landmark decision in California, where a jury finds Meta and YouTube negligent and says the way their apps are designed hurts kids. Plus, after more than a decade of rampant violence and crime, Venezuela is starting to feel safer. We get into why. Around 10, 15 years ago, streets were so barren at night, people couldn't go out. You'd call a taxi just to go a few blocks. People were very, very scared of being robbed, mugged, kidnapped. It's really one of the most remarkable changes. And security lines at airports are growing. One company is a clear winner. It's Wednesday, March 25th. I'm Alex Oseleff for The Wall Street Journal.

1:13Alex Ossola:This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

1:25Alex Ossola:In Los Angeles, a jury ruled today that Meta, which owns Instagram and Google's YouTube, were negligent for operating products that harm kids and teens and failing to warn about those dangers. The jury ordered the companies to pay$6 million in damages. The decision comes just a day after another verdict in New Mexico that found Meta liable for failing to protect young people from online dangers. On that decision, Meta said it would appeal. For more on the outcome of the Los Angeles trial, I'm joined now by WSJ tech reporter Megan Bobrowski. Megan, what does today's verdict mean for the two companies in question, Meta and YouTube?

1:59Meta has lost two cases in the span of two days, accusing them of social media harms towards children and being responsible for the design of their apps. So this is a landmark case. Both these cases had financial penalties attached to them. And so in the case yesterday, Meta was ordered to pay$375 million. For reference, that is 1 1 60th of the revenue they made in the last quarter. So a very, very small amount of the money they actually made. What these cases are really about is about setting precedent that these companies are not shielded by Section 230 as much as people might have thought they've been.

2:42Alex Ossola:To remind listeners, Section 230 is part of a 1996 communications law that's been really important for Internet companies. It's broadly protected them from being held liable for things like the videos and other posts on their platforms. So, Megan, what does this verdict mean for social media companies? Will they have to change their business practices? This is all happening in real time. There are thousands of other cases similar to these ones that are going to trial in California. And so at a certain point, if they're losing these cases, do they keep going to trial with these, right? Or do you settle, make changes, and do something else?

3:19That's sort of what we're looking to see here is what the fallout is from this.

3:23Alex Ossola:That was WSJ tech reporter Megan Dobrowski. Meta and Google say they plan to appeal. In California, a battle is underway over a proposed billionaire tax. We've talked before on the show about a ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5 % wealth tax on billionaires. And the billionaires are fighting back with ballot measures of their own. And unsurprisingly, they've got deep pockets. The organization that proposed those countermeasures has collected nearly$80 million from tech and business leaders since January. Journal Enterprise reporter Laura Nelson is based in Los Angeles and joins me now.

3:59Alex Ossola:Laura, the organization, which is called Building a Better California, describes itself as a nonpartisan organization working to tackle long-term issues. How is it pushing back against the proposed wealth tax? That's right. So they have proposed three ballot measures of their own, each of which would take aim at a certain portion of the billionaire tax proposal. One of them would require more auditing of special tax programs in the state and would also set up a possible collision course with the billionaire tax over how some types of tax revenue can be spent. Another would bar retroactive taxes and new taxes on personal property.

4:40And then there's a third that would bar new taxes from bypassing rules that California has about how tax revenue needs to be spent for schools. So all three of these, none of them would directly negate the entire billionaire tax, but they would kick out legs from under the stool, if that makes sense. Who are some of the people who are pushing back on this proposed billionaire tax? So the main funder of this group is Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google. He has given about$45 million, more than half of the funding to this nonprofit that's been disclosed. But there's a lot of other scions of tech and business that have contributed as well.

5:18Well-known venture capitalists from the Bay Area, including Michael Moritz and John Doerr, the co-founder of Stripe, Patrick Collison, and more than$3 million from the former chief executive of Google, Eric Schmidt.

5:30Alex Ossola:Let's talk about where the proposals actually stand. So the billionaire tax is still getting signatures from voters. How likely does it seem to become a ballot measure and then potentially law? We are about two months away from being able to answer that question. Campaigns that want to make sure that they will qualify their measures for the November ballot have about six weeks left to gather the signatures that they need. And I think it's safe to say that with both the billionaire tax and with the countermeasures, it will be down to the wire. We are within weeks of the deadline passing and they're all still out there.

6:06Alex Ossola:That was WSJ Enterprise reporter Laura Nelson. Thanks, Laura. Thank you. Coming up, the latest on when the White House says the war with Iran will end, and the company that's offering travelers a way around those hours-long wait times at airports. That's after the break.

6:29Baseball is back, and the first pitch is on Netflix. The New York Yankees, led by seven-time All-Star Aaron Judge, head to the San Francisco Bay to take on Rafael Devers' San Francisco Giants. This season kicks off with one exclusive opening night game. Watch MLB opening night, the New York Yankees versus the San Francisco Giants, live on Netflix. Tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific.

7:00Alex Ossola:Today, the White House threatened more attacks on Iran if Tehran doesn't make a deal to end the conflict. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt confirmed the U.S. is negotiating to end the war, but declined to say who it's been talking to. Iran has publicly rejected the U.S. proposal to end the war, but Arab mediators say the country's leaders are willing to listen to diplomatic efforts. Still, both sides are far apart, and discussions could fail. During a news briefing today, Levitt said the war was on track to end by the time President Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in May. We've always estimated approximately four to six weeks, So you could do the math on that, Mario.

7:36But we do look forward, I know the president looks forward to going to China on May 14th and 15th.

7:41Alex Ossola:Levitt also said that the Trump administration doesn't plan to seek congressional authorization for the war in Iran. Cautious optimism that the war in the Middle East may be nearing a resolution lifted stocks. The Nasdaq led the gains and closed up 0.8 percent. Brent crude the international benchmark fell below$100 a barrel. For years, Venezuela was one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Drivers ran red lights to avoid carjackings. Public spaces like bars and parks would empty as night fell so people wouldn't get kidnapped. The country's capital, Caracas, was called the murder capital of the world by several crime-tracking organizations.

8:19Alex Ossola:Now, though, crime has dropped dramatically. Journal reporter Cajal Vyas was recently in Caracas and joins me now with more. Cajal, why did the crime situation get so bad in Venezuela in the first place? So Venezuela's had problems with urban violence going back decades, but it got significantly worse under Hugo Chavez. It was easy to find guns. Gasoline was free. So between that and very lax law enforcement, you saw an absolute surge in kidnapping and homicide rates. Fast forward to today, the government of Delce Rodriguez says the homicide rate in 2025 fell to three per 100 ,000, which is lower than the U.S.

9:00Alex Ossola:Now, criminologists were pretty skeptical of that number, but you report that life on the ground does seem to speak to a drop in the crime rate. How are we seeing that play out across the country? Absolutely. So Venezuela peaked about a decade ago at a rate of 90 homicides per 100 ,000 inhabitants. The government has its version of three per 100 ,000 independent criminologists, who estimates somewhere in the low 20s range. It's still high, comparable to neighboring Colombia or even Mexico. But it's a huge improvement, and you see it in the way people live their daily lives. Around 10, 15 years ago, streets were so barren at night, people couldn't go out.

9:40You'd call a taxi just to go a few blocks. People were very, very scared of being robbed, mugged, kidnapped. It's really one of the most remarkable changes. People aren't running panic when they see a motorcycle is passed by these days, which in years past would have been probably a guaranteed robbery. And now it's more likely they're bringing you your delivery or they're your moto taxi driver.

10:02Alex Ossola:It sounds like quite a transformation. Why this drop? So the drop has a few different explanations, but the mass migration that the country saw is probably the number one reason that you see criminologists cite. Over the last 10, 12 years, we saw roughly 8 million people from Venezuela leave. That's between a quarter and a third of the general population. And cataclysmic economic collapse under Nicolas Maduro actually made the life of a gangster also difficult. There was less money to steal. Another major factor is these police sweeps the Venezuelan government ran for several years, large security teams going into the slums and going on killing sprees.

10:45And so from that era, we've had thousands of allegations of extrajudicial killings. However, it also did contribute to a major shift in city life in Venezuela.

10:57Alex Ossola:You mentioned that mass migration from Venezuela was a big factor in reducing crime there. President Trump has blamed migrants from Venezuela for crime in the U.S. How have politicians in other countries reacted? When you have an exodus of 8 million people, there's going to be a small fraction of society that will be prone to criminal life. And so certainly around the Americas, from Chile to Peru to Colombia, all the way up to the U.S., we saw local authorities complain about activities from Venezuelan criminal syndicates that moved in. And these became really hot button political issues. But back in Venezuela, the security situation we've been talking about is going to be put to the test soon, right?

11:39Alex Ossola:Because investment scouts are going to be there looking at business opportunities. What does the changing security situation mean for Venezuela's economic growth? Improving security is a crucial step to getting investors confident enough to explore opportunities and eventually sign deals that the country badly needs for its economic development. We've spoken to a number of people who are organizing investor trips in the upcoming weeks. And yes, they are hiring armored cars, hiring bodyguards, you know, following corporate protocol in many cases. It's interesting to watch that happen at the same time that the country, at least the capital city, feels safer than it has at any time in 15 years.

12:20Alex Ossola:That was WSJ reporter Kejal Vyas. Thanks, Kejal. Thank you, Alex.

12:29Alex Ossola:And finally, it's been more than six weeks since the Department of Homeland Security funding lapsed, and airport security lines have gotten frustratingly long. That's benefiting one company in particular, Clear Secure. That's behind the Clear fast lane through airport security. It costs a couple hundred dollars per year. Since the beginning of March, passengers have downloaded the Clear app 289 ,000 times. Data from the market intelligence firm Sensor Tower shows that's more than triple the number from a year ago. And Clear's stock is up 60 percent from last month. And that's what's news for this Wednesday afternoon.

13:03Alex Ossola:Today's show is produced by Pierre Bien-Aimé and Amani Moise with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Alex Oselev for The Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.

13:25The Future of Everything is the Wall Street Journal's flagship live event. Returning to New York City May 4th through 5th. Be there as CEOs, policymakers, and innovators sit down with our journalists to answer the most pressing questions of the day. From finance, tech, and economic policy to sports, streaming, and style, we're bringing together today's most compelling newsmakers for two days of conversations on what's ahead. Listeners of this podcast can access exclusive discounted rates by visiting wsj.com slash future. That's wsj.com slash future.