Here's your afternoon, TNB Tech Minute for Thursday, April 9th. I'm Julie Chang for the Wall Street Journal.

Meta is removing hundreds of law firm ads from its subsidiaries Facebook and Instagram that trial lawyers have been placing to recruit new clients.

The ads seek to reach eligible plaintiffs to join mounting lawsuits against a social media company.

Meta is currently purging the ads on its platforms and plans to ban future litigation promoting ads,

saying they would not allow trial lawyers to profit from the platforms while simultaneously claiming they are harmful.

This comes as Meta and other social media companies face thousands of

lawsuits alleging they intentionally try to get young users addicted to their platforms causing mental

health issues. Volkswagen will stop production of its ID4 electric crossover at its Tennessee

assembly plant. It's the latest casualty in the U.S. auto industry's retreat from EVs.

The ID4 was the company's lone EV built in the U.S., though it is also built in Germany for European markets.

Volkswagen said its U.S. dealers would continue to sell the ID4 with enough vehicles in stock to last into next year.

A future version of the ID4 is planned for North America, but a spokesman wouldn't say when it'll be introduced

or where the vehicle will be assembled. The company said while no production workers will

lose their jobs, it is offering a buyout for employees over 55. Meanwhile, in China, auto sales fell again last month.

According to the China Passenger Car Association, retail passenger car sales dropped 15% to

1.65 million units in March compared with a year ago, though they rose 59% from February.

The association cited changing EV tax policy, the post-LUNer New Year Lull, and higher costs

for chips, metals, and oil as factors. Retail sales of new energy vehicles, which includes

EVs and hybrid cars, fell 14% year-over-year to 848,000 units.

For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech,

check out Friday's Tech News Briefing podcast.