Meta loses bid to block class certification in US health tracking litigation

French lawmakers voted 11-10 to tax content providers €0.055 per GB of data sent to users, potentially raising €10B annually. The tax targets large tech firms like Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix, and Akamai, which account for half of France's data traffic. The government opposed the measure, which is not yet law and may face further hurdles. The tax could be passed on to users through higher subscription prices.

Nvidia invested $3B in Meta, expanding AI partnerships. Meta plans $97.5B stock offerings for AI and infrastructure projects. Alphabet's Q3 revenue rose 25%, but free cash flow turned negative. Microsoft reported 19% revenue growth, 48% Azure growth. Amazon's AWS grew 39.3%, with $578B backlog. Apple acknowledged iPhone Duo display issues. Retail sentiment shifted for NVDA, META, GOOGL, MSFT, AMZN.

Meta Platforms settled a social media addiction lawsuit before trial, leaving Snap Inc. as the sole defendant. The plaintiffs alleged that features like infinite scroll caused mental health issues. Meta has denied the claims, and the case is part of a larger legal battle involving multiple companies and thousands of lawsuits. Meta previously settled a $17-18 billion deal with state attorneys general.

U.S. banks restricted AI agents from customer accounts, stablecoin rewards face case-by-case review, and a community bank group sued to stop crypto firms from obtaining national charters. JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Bank of America limited AI agent access due to liability concerns. The OCC finalized a rule banning direct stablecoin yield payments but left third-party rewards open. Coinbase expects flat 2026 expenses excluding USDC rewards growth.

France's National Assembly passed a 5.5 euro cent tax per gigabyte delivered by digital platforms, targeting companies like Netflix, Google, and Meta. The tax aims to generate 5-10 billion euros annually, with caps limiting exposure for large platforms. The Senate may still remove the measure before it becomes law in 2027.

A US federal judge certified four classes of Facebook users in a lawsuit against Meta, alleging improper collection of sensitive medical data. Judge William Orrick rejected Meta's arguments against classwide litigation, but narrowed some claims. The case involves California's wiretapping law and unauthorized device intrusion.