EU Commission: addictive design Instagram and Facebook in breach of the DSA • Hacker News Board

Re: EU Commission: addictive design Instagram and Facebook in breach of the DSA

#171

Post by lII1lIlI11ll » Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 9:06 PM UTC

Noaidi wrote: post #135

alightsoul wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The choice already exists: migrate to bluesky, pinksky, mastodon, pixelfed. Create repost bots to start the network effect with content from Instagram. Clearly label the repost bots and choose accounts that aren't reposted yet.

Don't you get it? No one is on those sites because they are not addictive. It is like trying top tell an alcoholic to just drink mocktails.

Alcoholic drinking mocktails can experience significant withdrawal symptoms like fever or seizures with potentially fatal results. What do you think will happen to all those "addicted" people after they uninstall TikTok from their phones?

Re: EU Commission: addictive design Instagram and Facebook in breach of the DSA

#172

Post by littlecranky67 » Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 9:13 PM UTC

upboundspiral wrote: post #154

twoodfin wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Real household median income in the US has risen by more than 25% since 1996, largely driven by technology built for and by the ecosystem you want to pull out by the roots. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N That would be a staggering cut to everyone’s standard of living.

assuming 2% inflation over 30 years, that means that a dollar in 1996 is now worth $1.81. 80% depreciation versus 25% increase in income is not comparable. The wealth inequality in the past 30 years has dramatically shifted in favor of the ultra rich. Technology has been used to create illegal monopolies -> too big to fail -> surely we can't / don't need to regulate this -> tech companies get away with murder and lau…

I would asume the FRED statistic already is inflation adjusted as they said real income (usally inflation adjusted). That is 25% come ontop of the inflation, while you subtract it.

That being said, inflation or CPI is a very poor metric over time. I mean, sure, lets look what a smartphone with an all-knowing AI and internet access cost 100 years ago and see how much more we are paying now for it. Or the price of antibiotics, polio vacines and so on - sure they were cheap 100 years ago.

Because it is obvisouly not possible, we measure CPI in the price of eggs, milk, veggies, transportation and so on. Sure, we are all happy that we can buy today 25% more butter than we could 20 years ago.

Re: EU Commission: addictive design Instagram and Facebook in breach of the DSA

#173

Post by vcxxczcxvxzv » Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 9:22 PM UTC

hiire wrote: post #156

I truly hope something is done about this. I just came back from a nice short bath at the beach, where a family had their towels set a few meters away from mine. While I was laying there, relaxing, I saw two kids begging their dad to accompany them into the water, while their dad watched Reels and ignored them completely. Not even a response. The kids just wanted to have a fun afternoon and play in the water, but the…

I get the sentiment you're going for and it seems very popular to shit on parents but as a dad myself with quite demanding kids I'd be more .. hesitant to make judgments like that. There literally are a million reasons I could behave like that. I could have just spend an entire week with them, ceaselessly catering to their every whim. You know this won't ever be enough. They'll yell at you all day any day to look at whatever they're doing if you're not putting in some boundaries.

I imagine this guy just told them a minute ago he needed some time off and what do you know, the next second they come and claim attention, and he is now stewing in his righteous anger-silence. You also don't know what's going on relationship-wise. In general I'd say mind your own business.

Same thing with the childless people complaining about kids having tablets in restaurants. Well, let me know, so next time I'll place two tired and severely hyperactive kids right next to you so you can enjoy their endless whining while I'll sit a few seats away shoving down some wine thank you very much.

Re: EU Commission: addictive design Instagram and Facebook in breach of the DSA

#174

Post by andrewinardeer » Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 9:24 PM UTC

netsharc wrote: post #159

hiire wrote: post #156

I truly hope something is done about this. I just came back from a nice short bath at the beach, where a family had their towels set a few meters away from mine. While I was laying there, relaxing, I saw two kids begging their dad to accompany them into the water, while their dad watched Reels and ignored them completely. Not even a response. The kids just wanted to have a fun afternoon and play in the water, but the…

Man, that age means you're "conscious" life had smartphone/social media in it, according to this (1), if you're born 1999 or later (it's a report from 2012 and mentions teens 13-17), your teenage years probably involved smartphones/social media. As someone older, I wonder what it must be like to grow up since childhood in a world where socializing is done a lot on Facebook/IG comment sections, as well as chasing like…

I'm 48 and lived both analog and digital.

I am so glad cameras on phones didn't exist when I was at school. I probably would have been expelled a dozen times over.

Re: EU Commission: addictive design Instagram and Facebook in breach of the DSA

#175

Post by juliendorra » Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 10:25 PM UTC

hiire wrote: post #156

I truly hope something is done about this. I just came back from a nice short bath at the beach, where a family had their towels set a few meters away from mine. While I was laying there, relaxing, I saw two kids begging their dad to accompany them into the water, while their dad watched Reels and ignored them completely. Not even a response. The kids just wanted to have a fun afternoon and play in the water, but the…

To give a little historical perspective (as you are young at 23) dads have been ignoring their kids for some times in our society: before it was magazines or maybe books. Or TV at home. The cliché "don’t disturb your dad while he is reading his newspaper" is sadly anchored in a real asymmetry in terms of child care (fathers tend to care for kids on their own terms, mothers for all the rest) Said otherwise: me time for dads is usually sanctuarized

Re: EU Commission: addictive design Instagram and Facebook in breach of the DSA

#176

Post by hiire » Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 10:52 PM UTC

vcxxczcxvxzv wrote: post #173

hiire wrote: post #156

I truly hope something is done about this. I just came back from a nice short bath at the beach, where a family had their towels set a few meters away from mine. While I was laying there, relaxing, I saw two kids begging their dad to accompany them into the water, while their dad watched Reels and ignored them completely. Not even a response. The kids just wanted to have a fun afternoon and play in the water, but the…

I get the sentiment you're going for and it seems very popular to shit on parents but as a dad myself with quite demanding kids I'd be more .. hesitant to make judgments like that. There literally are a million reasons I could behave like that. I could have just spend an entire week with them, ceaselessly catering to their every whim. You know this won't ever be enough. They'll yell at you all day any day to look at…

That's a fair response, I get that kids can be overwhelming (hell, I'm pretty sure I'm not made to handle all that activity all the time), but at the same time, _you're at the beach_, the day is beautiful, the little waves look great, and even if you just wanna relax, the least you could do is tell your kids to go play in the water while you sunbathe or whatever.

My point, rather than a parent ignoring their kids and me being upset about it, is more of a "out of all things, you're gonna _watch reels_ at the beach?! Save that for home!". The very instant people get bored, there's an unlimited content machine to tickle our brains, when in reality we should learn that being bored is OK.

Still, while the point of raising kids being difficult is something I agree with you on, I also gotta say that I absolutely disagree about kids having tablets at restaurants, they probably shouldn't have them at all. But that's a whole different discussion, so I won't dive deeper here. All I can say is, you're right that I can't assume what the context was in that situation, and I shouldn't judge so harshly.

Re: EU Commission: addictive design Instagram and Facebook in breach of the DSA

#177

Post by jampekka » Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 11:03 PM UTC

pembrook wrote: post #155

jampekka wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The government is an institution protecting us from commercial interests. The government also protects against e.g. abject poverty and dying of easily treatable medical conditions. And also upholds e.g. property rights, which you probably hold absolutely necessary. Society works on balance of power. The government is part of that balance. Ideally the government serves the interests of people, that's the democracy par…

Yes and commercial entities aren’t some absolute evil constantly repressing us either. Both government and private entities have checks on their power in the form of voting (government) or in the case of commercial entities, the market itself (voting with your dollar). Both entities can and do abuse their power. However, only one group is always granted a monopoly and legally allowed to force you to comply and buy th…

More or less the definition of a state is that it upholds the monopoly of violence within its borders. In modern liberal states that monopoly comes with extensive regulations on how, when and by whom violence should be used. This is called the rule of law. The regulations are usually broadly enumerated in the constitution or similar basic law, and in more detail in ordinary legislation. In democratic states these are ideally determined by the population, usually via some representatives.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm stating the obvious, but this is the rationale why many people think that some powers may be granted to the institution with the sole legitimate power to force you to comply at gunpoint.

Re: EU Commission: addictive design Instagram and Facebook in breach of the DSA

#178

Post by twoodfin » Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 11:18 PM UTC

upboundspiral wrote: post #154

twoodfin wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Real household median income in the US has risen by more than 25% since 1996, largely driven by technology built for and by the ecosystem you want to pull out by the roots. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N That would be a staggering cut to everyone’s standard of living.

assuming 2% inflation over 30 years, that means that a dollar in 1996 is now worth $1.81. 80% depreciation versus 25% increase in income is not comparable. The wealth inequality in the past 30 years has dramatically shifted in favor of the ultra rich. Technology has been used to create illegal monopolies -> too big to fail -> surely we can't / don't need to regulate this -> tech companies get away with murder and lau…

“We should regulate tech companies” != “Online advertising should be illegal.”

Also, real median household income.

Re: EU Commission: addictive design Instagram and Facebook in breach of the DSA

#179

Post by twoodfin » Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 11:23 PM UTC

littlecranky67 wrote: post #172

upboundspiral wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

assuming 2% inflation over 30 years, that means that a dollar in 1996 is now worth $1.81. 80% depreciation versus 25% increase in income is not comparable. The wealth inequality in the past 30 years has dramatically shifted in favor of the ultra rich. Technology has been used to create illegal monopolies -> too big to fail -> surely we can't / don't need to regulate this -> tech companies get away with murder and lau…

I would asume the FRED statistic already is inflation adjusted as they said real income (usally inflation adjusted). That is 25% come ontop of the inflation, while you subtract it. That being said, inflation or CPI is a very poor metric over time. I mean, sure, lets look what a smartphone with an all-knowing AI and internet access cost 100 years ago and see how much more we are paying now for it. Or the price of anti…

As you suggest, if anything, inflation statistics overstate the decline in currency value over time.

Over the long term, attempting to quantitatively adjust for the value of goods that simply did not exist prior to time X becomes a subjective game.

What’s the value of $10 worth of penicillin or $10 worth of LLM tokens relative to their “substitutes” in an era before they were invented?

Re: EU Commission: addictive design Instagram and Facebook in breach of the DSA

#180

Post by pembrook » Sat, Jul 11, 2026, 1:20 AM UTC

jampekka wrote: post #177

pembrook wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes and commercial entities aren’t some absolute evil constantly repressing us either. Both government and private entities have checks on their power in the form of voting (government) or in the case of commercial entities, the market itself (voting with your dollar). Both entities can and do abuse their power. However, only one group is always granted a monopoly and legally allowed to force you to comply and buy th…

More or less the definition of a state is that it upholds the monopoly of violence within its borders. In modern liberal states that monopoly comes with extensive regulations on how, when and by whom violence should be used. This is called the rule of law. The regulations are usually broadly enumerated in the constitution or similar basic law, and in more detail in ordinary legislation. In democratic states these are…

Yes and I’m not arguing against the theory, I’m arguing against the reality of how governments actually work in practice. (Hint: they aren’t perfect)

The worlds worst atrocities; genocides, mass murder on the scale of millions, Mao’s Great Leap Forward (the largest mass starvation event of all time), constant wars, authoritarian brutality that exists globally today, etc…

None of these things are due to the actions of supposedly “evil” capitalist companies.

There’s far more capacity for harm in your own government than there is in any private company.

So I'll restate my original point which nobody seems interested in addressing head-on: granting government the ability to meddle in things is inherently dangerous, and should not be cheered on especially when we’re talking about regulating the entirety of modern media. One poorly placed sentence in a piece of legislation and suddenly you've opened the door to killing all freedom of the press when the cultural wind changes.

As a Finnish person (guessing by the name Pekka -- I also live in Finland), you will find this difficult to understand because Finland is tiny, hyper-nationalist, ethnically homogenous, and Europe is currently peaceful. But just imagine what Finland would look like today if the civil war went the other way. I think you might be on the other side of this argument.