EFF news letter: "SOCIAL MEDIA BANS: As statehouses ramp up for 2026, we're seeing a concerning trend: lawmakers rushing to regulate the internet based on flawed research. We cannot allow emotion or incomplete data sets to justify a historic rollback of digital rights. Policymakers are legislating blanket bans on social media based on evidence that would be rejected in any other field of public health."
Talk about the understatement of the year...
The social media bans are 200% emotional, and the 'data', what data???
Social media is merely another word for "communications" and we've had it since BEFORE the internet existed. Yes, from the early days of computing with things like builtin board system systems to instant messaging platforms such as ICQ, AIM, and the precursor to what many might consider "social media", Geocities.
The point is the internet has been around 32 years now and a sizable percentage of the population has been online for close to 30 years.
Whatever "problem" that may be perceived is clearly not a new one. Both sex offenders have existed on the internet since its existence, companies have been doing less than optimal things since long before before endless scrolling, and privacy invasive actors have existed since the internet began. DoubleClick was founded in 1995 and Google bought it in 2008.
Long story short is if you don't like it don't use- teach your kids- don't advocate or try and justify the use of violence and coercion against others when your own free market actions are even better. That's just a poor excuse that leads to your own doom and harm down the road.
What you can do to them they can in turn do to you- and laws are violent. Laws that enable others to use it through the state are bad no matter who.
Talk about the understatement of the year...
The social media bans are 200% emotional, and the 'data', what data???
Social media is merely another word for "communications" and we've had it since BEFORE the internet existed. Yes, from the early days of computing with things like builtin board system systems to instant messaging platforms such as ICQ, AIM, and the precursor to what many might consider "social media", Geocities.
The point is the internet has been around 32 years now and a sizable percentage of the population has been online for close to 30 years.
Whatever "problem" that may be perceived is clearly not a new one. Both sex offenders have existed on the internet since its existence, companies have been doing less than optimal things since long before before endless scrolling, and privacy invasive actors have existed since the internet began. DoubleClick was founded in 1995 and Google bought it in 2008.
Long story short is if you don't like it don't use- teach your kids- don't advocate or try and justify the use of violence and coercion against others when your own free market actions are even better. That's just a poor excuse that leads to your own doom and harm down the road.
What you can do to them they can in turn do to you- and laws are violent. Laws that enable others to use it through the state are bad no matter who.
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