TikTok's 'addictive design' found to be illegal in Europe

Post by Quarrelsome » Fri, Feb 06, 2026, 6:51 PM UTC

Jensson wrote: post #294

Quarrelsome wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But Facebook and Myspace existed under much less regulated circumstances than exists today sorry, what regulation are you talking about here? Afaik regulation in the US is pretty much the same back then as it is now. Worst case scenarios are usually slap on the wrists like when Snapchat lied to its users about ephemeral messaging and got fined a pathetic amount. > No, your position earlier was wrong according to wh…

> I just don't like blaming capitalism in the abstract because it doesn't have to be like this. We can change it. But saying that Facebook or Myspace wasn't that bad does nothing to support this position, so why did you bring those up? > So simply saying "capitalism bad" with an implication that we need to tear down the system isn't good enough for me Read my post, I didn't say "capitalism bad", I said its good from…

Post by Quarrelsome » Fri, Feb 06, 2026, 6:52 PM UTC

saubeidl wrote: post #325

Quarrelsome wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

well my mother was born in the USSR, so I don't have to accept Lenin's position because my people suffered his "inevitable outcome of the system" for the choices he made. I'd rather fix up this existing system then day dream about a glorious socialist revolution that always seems to end in blood.

What if this current system also always ends in blood, as history has shown so far?

Post by comboy » Fri, Feb 06, 2026, 7:03 PM UTC

tock wrote: post #351

comboy wrote: post #341

I'm too late but I'm surprised HN crowd treats tiktok as some weaponized addiction machine. Youtube used to have a working recommendation system and it was usable too. Is it really bad to give me woodworking and learning chinese videos if that's what I'm interested in at the moment? If somebody is not interested in anything specific and just want to zone out, is it really different if he scrolls through tiktok or wat…

> tiktok as some weaponized addiction machine It is. > Is it really bad to give me woodworking and learning chinese videos if that's what I'm interested in at the moment? Youtube shorts is pretty similar to tiktok imo. > is it really different if he scrolls through tiktok or watches the same thing put into longer videos on TV or some other site? Yes because TV is just stuff shown to everyone. You aren't getting perso…

Post by Quarrelsome » Fri, Feb 06, 2026, 7:05 PM UTC

amarant wrote: post #179

wackget wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are not acknowledging the fact that the companies producing these addictive apps are very much doing it intentionally. They are specifically making it as engaging as possible because that's how they make money . And they have billions of dollars to sink into making their products as irresistable as possible. The average person has zero chance against all-pervasive, ultra-manipulative, highly-engineered systems li…

I don't like this narrative. I'm a person, and HN is the only social media I use.I tolerate this one because I find the addictiveness off-putting, but unlike other social media HN doesn't engage in that much. I'm not some sort of prodigy or anything, just a random schmuck. If I can do it, anyone can. People just really like blaming others for their own vices instead of owning up to having a vice. HN is a vice too. On…

Post by Quarrelsome » Fri, Feb 06, 2026, 7:06 PM UTC

landl0rd wrote: post #176

saithir wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also super easy not to use hard drugs, yet that's not a reason to stop restricting them. If something's harmful it should be controlled.

I find it pretty hypocritical that the same people who push for e.g. legal marijuana would go for banning social media apps. Don't get me wrong, I use neither and think both are mentally, physically, and morally corrosive. I would not care to have either present in the community where I live, nor for my future children to use them. That does not mean it is the province of the state to ban them.