This is like an article declaring, “EU Investigates MySpace for causing child addiction and harm” – the people they’re trying to protect don’t use that product any more. The time to do this investigation was fifteen years ago, and the US government should have been the ones to do it.
Don’t get me wrong – fuck Facebook. I hope they have to pay billions. But the people that company is harming now are adults and the elderly. I’m sure fifteen years from now, once all those people are dead, there’ll be an in-depth investigation and legislation about it.
My point was it’s more than a decade too late, and all the EU will do is levy a minor fine that Meta won’t even blink at. The only country that could impose real consequences is the US, and they have no interest in anything that doesn’t benefit these nightmare cyberpunk megacorps.
Depends on whether you count from the time facebook etc. became a problem and was recognised or such, or the passing of the Digital Services Act. The commission can’t just impose fines randomly they have to have a legislative basis to do it.
EU fines are generally not a thing you can just blink at they’re measured in percent of world-wide turnover. Historically they don’t really dissuade companies from trying shit but they definitely are sufficient to make them stop shit. Also actually way more importantly they probably have tiktok in the pipeline but the paperwork still needs the one or other t crossed.
I was counting from when Facebook et al. became a clear problem — because, again, while I’m glad the EU is looking at this, it’s the US that has needed to take action. Their refusal to do so has left it to the EU to try to do something, and I’m skeptical that whatever they end up doing will make a difference. Like, if the price of the crime is a fine, then the crime is legal for a company as big as Meta.
If they’re found to be tanking a continuous fine of 5% revenue because they’re too darn profitable it won’t take long for the parliament to change the regulation. With sufficient harm to the consumers it’s also possible to simply shut down facebook, or at least their ability to do business in the EU which would make the market completely unprofitable as they’re relying on EU advertisers. They definitely can unplug each and every server facebook has in the EU. The EP is way less captured by lobby interest than the US legislature is, doubly so by an uppity US company trying to skirt EU law.
What’s more likely to happen though is the shareholders firing management because picking a fight with a bully the size of the EU isn’t exactly good for the share price.
Well, you’re more optimistic than I am, but I hope you’re right.
The whole internet feels like it’s in a state of irrecoverable rot, and the last ten years have really tanked my confidence in governments to do anything about the clearly harmful, consumer hostile behavior inflicted on us — mostly because they seem to benefit a lot from letting Meta et al. do whatever they want. Like, EU fines, to date, have looked more like the organization wanting to wet their beak rather than fixing anything. I don’t know.
Got into a huge argument with my dad and almost lost all contact with him from right wing brainwashing. We’re good now but it’s scarry just how far the right will go to tear families apart just to get what they want. I hope every last GOP member burns a slow painful death.
My wife’s parents went crazy lead brained. They went pure antivaxxer and said if we don’t want our kids to have grandparents, then get vaccinated. We lolled and said, “Bye”.
It’s been four years now.
They now pretend like they didn’t say that every few months by sending us gifts and cards, that we promptly give away to charity.
We must have the same inlaws haha. Similar situation with my wife’s parents and one sibling. They’ve never met our kid and still put all their right wing Facebook conspiracies ahead of meeting him. No loss to us - we’d rather spend time with sane people anyway.
Oh no, definitely do something as a parent, like lock some apps or something. But with stuff like social media it’s almost impossible to keep your kids away from it, especially without government intervention. Pretty sure some kids nowadays also just get bullied into using social media, even if they’re not interested in it. I mean, kids get bullied over not having any Fortnite skins…
I have often thought about how I will do this with my child. Fortunately, I still have some time before this becomes relevant, but in the end it’s like politics, isn’t it? It’s always about the tug of war between safety and freedom. As a father, I naturally pull in the direction of safety, but how hard can I pull? I don’t know if I’m too naive, but maybe I can achieve a better result with education than with bans? If I ban something, my children should understand why there is a ban or restriction. I would also be prepared to engage in a discussion because I naturally think differently to my child. I hope that I will do everything right, I hated it as a child when there were bans without justification.
You’re absolutely right! I feel like sometimes you need to pull your kids in the direction you think is right for them. And I think if a parent does a really good job at explaining why things are the way they are and at giving their kids a good understanding of right and wrong, then those kids will figure out a lot of stuff on their own very quickly.
I just see two extremes way too often when I go out:
Patents who let their kids do whatever and don’t establish themselves as a figure or trust and guidance.
Parents who take it too far into the other direction and force their own beliefs on their kids, maybe even passing on their own trauma.
Neither one is good imo. But also, keep in mind that sometimes (young) kids just ask questions to get a certain reaction out of you lol
That’s pretty much the definition of the job of parent. To control everything around the child and how they interact with things.
It’s not any more difficult than it ever was. For one thing, don’t give kids a smartphone until they’re at least 13, they have no need for one before then.
Similarly, up to that age, they should be taught how to use a computer and the internet, but only in a closely monitored, safe manner.
After 13 or there abouts, they are given more freedom and more responsibility to go along with it, and hopefully have been raised well enough to respect that.
From there, limitations and guide rails will remain in place, be it a traditional curfew in the evening, or a limitation of “screen time”, and if course of what the children interact with online.
Greater autonomy is earned through positive actions and mutual respect, too. Over time as they approach adulthood you will be able to loosen restrictions and worry less, as the strong person you’ve helped raise will be able to make their own decisions with greater confidence and more positive outcomes.
Mistakes will be made on all sides along the way, there will be joy, sorrow, anger, love, parenting is a learning experience for all parties, but in the end, if all goes well, you’ll have a well adjusted young adult who isn’t addicted to their mobile phone or any of the apps contained within, who understands the dangers of such things, and how easily addictions and a warping of reality within the mind can set in.
Eventually you have to let go, let them be adults and make their own decisions, but by then they’ll have this deep understanding of the dangers they face, and that’s the best defence they can have.
It still might not be enough, but all you can do as a parent is try to prepare them, from then on they have to make their own mistakes, you know?
That’s pretty much the definition of the job of parent. To control everything around the child and how they interact with things.
The fuck. You’ll breed a country of people with zero social skills, zero independence, and a lot of ressentiment for their parents for boxing them in and helicoptering leading to an authority neurosis.
In short, you’ll have American conditions.
It takes a village and all that.
For one thing, don’t give kids a smartphone until they’re at least 13, they have no need for one before then.
No, give them 30 pence so they can find a telephone booth and call you if something is up. Make sure to isolate them from their peers because they can’t use the same chat app as everyone else. The more isolation the more you control them which will make nurturing that neurosis even easier.
After 13 or there abouts, they are given more freedom and more responsibility to go along with it, and hopefully have been raised well enough to respect that.
If, at the age of 13/14 thereabouts they haven’t learned to evaluate things for themselves, have had the opportunity to make wrong choices that they then learned from, they’ll be rolled over by puberty hormones driving their frontal cortex to mindless exploration. You cannot substitute your own judgement for theirs, your judgement isn’t stopping them, their capacity and ability to say “wait a minute I should think before I act” is the only thing that can.
From there, limitations and guide rails will remain in place, be it a traditional curfew in the evening, or a limitation of “screen time”, and if course of what the children interact with online.
At the age of 16 they should be mature enough to live on their own, with parental backup being present, but not imposing on them. They’ll call you when they need help because they came to value your guidance. Not control. One of the two begets rebellion, the other doesn’t.
Eventually you have to let go, let them be adults and make their own decisions,
I’m sure you’ll be able to after helicoptering them for 18 fucking years and them going zero contact for their own sanity.
but all you can do as a parent is try to prepare them
This is an institutional problem, not an individual one.
FB markets its platform as safe and respectful of security, but it’s exactly the opposite on both fronts and that is a proven fact. It’s deliberately addictive, has led to widespread radicalization and mental illness in its users, and steals people’s personal information.
It’s the digital equivalent of marketing cigarettes to kids, only more harmful.
FB absolutely needs to be investigated and held accountable.
Facebook is almost more effective on adults. So whether or not you’re right here is so ridiculously beyond the point anymore. They’ve lost all credibility and should be indefensible.
Well, the endgame of that radicalization will be hangman’s nooses being put up in the Capitol, last time the people putting it up were too stupid and led by a moron, but if they let it continue, someone half competent might try to come at them as well. They don’t live that far away from society that if they let it catch fire, they won’t get burned.
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