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EU to crack down on TikTok, Instagram's 'addictive design' targeting kids

cnbc.com

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Re: EU to crack down on TikTok, Instagram's 'addictive design' targeting kids

#41

Post by bee_rider »

stingraycharles wrote: post #32
randunel wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything other than sorting the list of entities by a standard measurement unit (time, length, mass, temperature, amount) needs to be covered by this law. The moment you add other entities to the list (e.g. ads inbetween posts), then it's also subject to the same restrictions.

This effectively means “every online platform ever” and would also have included MySpace and the OG Yahoo etc, and as such would not really single out the truly bad actors. And then we’ll end up with with another cookie-banner style law which had good intentions but actually missed the point entirely.

Maybe MySpace should be covered. I mean, MySpace probably(?) had the technical capacity to act maliciously in the manner that modern social media sites do, then business model just hadn’t evolved to the modern toxic state yet.

The cookie banner law is fine for the most part. Sites that do the malicious-compliance thing of over-prompting the user for permissions are providing a strong signal that they are bad actors. It’s about as much as we can expect without banning them entirely…

Re: EU to crack down on TikTok, Instagram's 'addictive design' targeting kids

#42

Post by palata »

gib444 wrote: post #17
thiago_fm wrote: post #9

Why should only kids be protected from addiction? I have a hard time understanding this. We have plenty of adults with terrible social media addiction that is destroying their lives, and nothing being done about it.

Makes it an easier sell politically. If you position it as dangerous to kids in particular, your opposition then looks like they're encouraging child harm.

Well and if you tell adults that they need to be regulated, they get pissed very, very quickly.

Re: EU to crack down on TikTok, Instagram's 'addictive design' targeting kids

#43

Post by kubb »

stingraycharles wrote: post #25
conception wrote: post #19

This is pretty easy to solve. If you present data by algorithm, you are no longer an impartial common carrier and are liable for the content you present. If the user decides you don’t, ala social media 1.0.

This is one of those things that don’t translate to legal reality very well, as then you have to define “what is an algorithm”. Is adding advertisements an algorithm? Is including likes an algorithm? Is automatically starting the next video after a previous one has finished an algorithm? Is infinite scroll an algorithm? Etc

This is some kind of a meme where people believe things can’t be defined in legal terms and therefore can’t be regulated. These people are usually not lawyers.

Does anyone know where it’s coming from? I can certainly believe that incompetent jurisdictions have a ton of issues with people misapplying the law and using loopholes.

Re: EU to crack down on TikTok, Instagram's 'addictive design' targeting kids

#44

Post by palata »

eowln wrote: post #7
soco wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I must notice that every time, but really every time, EU moves a pinky finger against tech industry, a sizeable chunk of comments here will be like the one above. I wonder, is it about a general sentiment against EU? Or a general sentiment against restricting technology? Or a general sentiment against humans? Or what?

[flagged]

> The sentiment that having to present our ID to use tiktok gives us the heebie-jeebies, and for good reason.

So push for privacy-preserving age verification, such that you don't need to leak your ID to anyone but TikTok can still prevent kids from accessing it?

Re: EU to crack down on TikTok, Instagram's 'addictive design' targeting kids

#46

Post by kgwxd »

anzerarkin wrote: post #22

I don’t think this is only a kids issue. A lot of adults need this too. The addictive apps are very well designed, while most blockers are either too easy to ignore or too annoying to keep using. I built a small iOS blocker because I had the same problem. Making it strict enough to actually work without making people hate it is the main challenge.

As an adult, who despises all those apps, I don't want to grant government the power to make that decision for me.

Re: EU to crack down on TikTok, Instagram's 'addictive design' targeting kids

#47

Post by tolerance »

garrettjoecox wrote: post #16

At what point should the responsibility fall on the parent to protect their children from harm? Don’t get me wrong, if I had my way TikTok wouldn’t exist for anyone, adults included. It’s just so strange to me that so many parents hand their 7 year olds unrestricted access to TikTok and expect someone else to keep their kid safe.

Apparently parents are spending more time with their children than ever. Dads especially. Paradoxically, there is what you're addressing.

Personally, I think some parents are afraid of their children growing to resent them for infringing upon their "freedom" in ways that keeping them away from the dangers that social media and other technologies present.

Re: EU to crack down on TikTok, Instagram's 'addictive design' targeting kids

#48

Post by kubb »

garrettjoecox wrote: post #16

At what point should the responsibility fall on the parent to protect their children from harm? Don’t get me wrong, if I had my way TikTok wouldn’t exist for anyone, adults included. It’s just so strange to me that so many parents hand their 7 year olds unrestricted access to TikTok and expect someone else to keep their kid safe.

When it works.

Re: EU to crack down on TikTok, Instagram's 'addictive design' targeting kids

#49

Post by actionfromafar »

anzerarkin wrote: post #22

I don’t think this is only a kids issue. A lot of adults need this too. The addictive apps are very well designed, while most blockers are either too easy to ignore or too annoying to keep using. I built a small iOS blocker because I had the same problem. Making it strict enough to actually work without making people hate it is the main challenge.

If we afford the same protections to adults, we don't need age verification either. Just a thought.

Re: EU to crack down on TikTok, Instagram's 'addictive design' targeting kids

#50

Post by eowln »

palata wrote: post #44
eowln wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> The sentiment that having to present our ID to use tiktok gives us the heebie-jeebies, and for good reason. So push for privacy-preserving age verification, such that you don't need to leak your ID to anyone but TikTok can still prevent kids from accessing it?

>privacy-preserving age verification

No such thing.

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