Irish Times Opinion Editor Jennifer O'Connell looks at a recent US court case and how it could upend social media's hold on us.

US consumers and importers take the vast majority of the financial hit from tariffs but trade volumes also suffer, resulting in a negative shock for exporters, too, a European Central Bank Economic Bulletin article said on Monday. The US imposed a raft of tariffs on most trading partners last year and economists have been debating who would take the biggest hit after the Trump administration predicted that exporters would pay the cost.

Advisory firm Interpath has appointed Brad Goodey to establish and lead its financial restructuring service offering in Ireland. Kieran Wallace, head of Interpath in Ireland and global head of restructuring said: “Brad’s extensive knowledge of financial restructuring and proven track record advising organisations in distress through complex challenges outside of formal processes further deepens the support we can offer clients as they navigate an increasingly dynamic and demanding environment.”

The vast majority of eligible employers have signed up to the My Future Fund pensions auto-enrolment scheme. Photograph: iStockMore than 6,600 employers have not signed up with the State’s new My Future Fund pensions auto-enrolment scheme, four months after registration started. The organisation overseeing the scheme, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), is chasing employers that have not registered. Under My Future Fund, all employees not already in an occupational pension scheme, aged 23-60 and earning more than €20,000 a year, will be automatically enrolled. Figures provided to The Irish Times by NAERSA last week show the vast majority of eligible employers – 108,894 – have signed up to the scheme.

Peacekeepers with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) driving past a Lebanese army outpost in the area of Naqura in southern Lebanon on Friday. Photograph: Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty ImagesThe UN ‌peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (Unifil) said a peacekeeper was killed when a projectile exploded at one of its positions near ‌the southern Lebanese village of Adchit al-Qusayr on Sunday. I strongly condemn Sunday’s incident during which an Indonesian peacekeeper of @UNIFIL_ was killed amidst hostilities between Israel & Hizbullah. Another Indonesian peacekeeper was seriously injured in the same incident. Israel’s military later ⁠acknowledged its tank fire had hit ⁠a UN position ​in southern Lebanon that day, wounding the Ghanaian peacekeepers.

A trader works on the New York Stock Exchange floor: fewer than 4 per cent of companies account for all stock market gains. Photograph: Sarah Yenesel / EPAMost stocks lose money. In 2016, Bessembinder calculated that just 89 companies accounted for half of total stock market gains. Put bluntly, losing money is perfectly normal, with the median stock return being a loss of 6.9 per cent. Stock market investing works not because most companies succeed, but because a small minority succeed spectacularly.

What do you do with your unused medicines? A new agreement between the HSE and pharmacists means you will soon be able to bring your old pills and medicines to a community pharmacy where they will be disposed of responsibly. Improper disposal – often through household bins or flushing – leads to contamination of water and soil, contributing to environmental degradation and antimicrobial resistance. Don’t throw your unused medicines into general waste, Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency warns. Putting them in your household bins, in the toilet, or down the sink is making the planet sick.

That was the difference between Donegal and Kerry with 14 minutes to go here. Scorers for Donegal: M. Murphy (1-5, 2 tpfs, 1 45); M. Langan (0-6, 2 tp); C. O’Donnell (1-1); C. McGonagle (1-0); M. Campbell, M. McHugh (0-3 each); P. Mogan, F. Roarty (0-1 each). DONEGAL: G. Mulreany; E. Gallagher, B. McCole, C. McColgan; P. Mogan, C. McGonagle, M. Campbell; J. McGee, H. McFadden; S. O’Donnell, M. Langan (c), R. McHugh; S. Malone, M. Murphy, C. O’Donnell. Subs for Donegal: F. Roarty for M. Murphy (56); S. McMenamin for S. Malone (60); S. Martin for M. Campbell (63); E. McHugh for R. McHugh (64). KERRY: S. Murphy; D. Casey, T. Morley, J. Foley; A. Heinrich, M. Breen, T. O’Sullivan; M. O’Shea, L. Smith; G. O’Sullivan, S. O’Shea (c), J. O’Connor; D. Clifford, D. Geaney, K. Evans.

Meath 1-22 Cork 2-17Another little step on the way. Add Cork to the roll call of Louth, Derry, and Tyrone that they have bested at GAA HQ. Since last summer’s Leinster final defeat, Meath are 10 wins, one draw, and two defeats from 13 outings. Scorers for Cork: S Sherlock (0-9, tp, 0-1 free); C Óg Jones (1-3); B Hurley (1-0); C O’Callaghan, P Walsh (0-2 each); M Cronin (0-1). MEATH: S Brennan; S Lavin, S Rafferty, B O’Halloran; D Keogan, S Coffey, C Caulfield; B Menton, J Flynn; J O’Connor, R Kinsella, C McBride; J Morris, E Frayne, A Lynch.

Cork chairman Pat Horgan has described as “a shambles” the decision to stage both Division 1A and 1B hurling finals in Limerick this Sunday. Horgan confirmed he asked Central Council on Saturday to consider making the county’s Division 1A hurling final against Limerick in TUS Gaelic Grounds a standalone game. “I asked that Central Council recommend to the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) that they would have another look at it. Jarlath replied that it would be unprecedented for Central Council to ask the CCCC to revisit it. Premier intermediate, intermediate A and premier junior clubs would pick up four less while junior A outfits would receive 12 and 10 for junior B and C clubs.

Cork developer Tom Coughlan is convinced his Marina Market location in the heart of Cork Docklands is the right location for the city's long-awaited events centre. The conceptual images produced by architects working on the vision for Cork's Marina Market site in the south docks. The conceptual images produced by architects working on the vision for Cork's Marina Market site in the south docks. For now, the formal tendering process will determine whether his Marina vision gets the hearing he believes it deserves. In 2008, he bought Cork City FC out of examinership, only for his tenure to unravel a year later.

Wars, including a widening conflict in the Middle East, are heightening risks for aviation as flight corridors are squeezed and drones become more widespread, Europe's top aviation safety regulator said. The month-old Iran war is reshaping airspace across the Middle East and increasing disruption to flights, including clogging routes between Asia and Europe that previously transited or flew over the region. "It's clear that concentrating traffic on certain routes, the availability of the airspace for air traffic control, the fact that traffic can use routes which are not so usual, can generate safety risks," said Florian Guillermet, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The comments are the first from Europe's aviation regulator since the Middle East war erupted at the end of February. Aviation is among the most disrupted industries, with pilots facing growing risks from missiles and drones.

'Tis grand: 'It is beyond time the great service of this word was acknowledged and honoured by us grateful if still indomitable Irish for its consistent and ongoing service'. Without doubt the hardest working word in Irish-English has to be “grand”. For who wants to recall the speed at which time is passing, even as all remains, well, grand? “The question is,” said Alice (poor Alice), “whether you can make words mean so many different things." And yet, though its meaning rests entirely with the person using it, the one listening understands perfectly what is meant, context being all.

Ostensibly the broadcaster has its sights on the resellers of the illegal service rather than individual end customers. The use of a dodgy boxes is a breach of Irish copyright law but unlike most other European jurisdictions there is no simple system of fines or sanctions for the users of the boxes. That said, the company’s frustration with the lack of enforcement of the law is clear. The high usage of dodgy boxes in Ireland – significantly higher per head than in the UK – is clearly linked to the lack of any effective enforcement regime. The UK has a system of fines and other sanctions for users and the police enforce the law with home visits, warnings and device seizures.

Deloitte has warned that delays to the construction of housing and upgrades of key infrastructure will hinder Irish economic growth and create more costly problems in the future. The Big Four firm has warned that delays to the construction of housing and upgrades of key infrastructure will hinder Irish economic growth and create more costly problems in the future. On the subject of spending plans, the Government has indicated that a new savings investment account (SIA) scheme will be unveiled on budget day later this year. Fintechs in the Republic were involved in deals with a total value of $258.4 million (€224.6 million) in 2025, up from $237.9 million in 2024, up 9 per cent. In Me & My Money, Tony Clayton-Lea speaks to Irish international trail-runner Matthew McConnell about cryptocurrency, putting a pension plan in place, and not letting money control his decision-making.