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Comment by JohnMakin | Hacker News Reader

Hold social media companies like meta accountable for the harm they know they are inflicting on children? Why is that impossible?

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What do you suggest they persecute facebook for? Making their app too fun for school?

Are you unaware of this massive story? https://www.thewellnews.com/mental-health/whistleblower-says...

There are plenty of other examples, such as default features they can put into place to protect children from harassment that they simply do not do.

So what? Killing a scapegoat does not a problem solve. You shut down facebook and then what happens? Everyone shuts the phone and enjoy the sunset or would they all just move to the next addictive app? Marlboros are not harmful, tobacco is. If we managed to largely curb smoking, it was by restricting access to tobacco.

A scapegoat? Who is the problem then, if not them? No one is suggesting shutting them down either - the proposal is to hold them accountable for enacting policies they know harm children. Who in their right mind would be against that except a meta astroturfer? It would help your argument a lot more if you didn't resort to ridiculous hyperbole like this.

>Who is the problem then, if not them?

Why is that the only people responsible for their children in any way at all whatsoever are never held accountable?? It is always, 100%, in every and all cases, the parent's fault. Either they're too stupid to know better, or they simply don't care.

Social media is far from the only distraction on phones, though. I spend next to zero time on social media, but my phone is nevertheless a powerful distraction for all the other things it can do.

Ok, but that's entirely separate from the reason given for the proposed phone ban.

I don't think social media addiction and other-mobile-phone-screen addiction are "entirely separate" reasons, no?

Is it? He used the surgeon general's recent moves as a starting point in his statement and continued "When children and teens are in school, they should be focused on their studies — not their screens.".

Why is it easier than getting rid of phones?

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