The more I think on the #ukPol push to ban under-16s from social media I think that I’m convinced problem is “the algorithm”.
I had access to porn at a very young age, but it wasn’t foisted upon me (barring the odd goatse link) in a continual scroll situation. When you finished reading your friends’ Geocities updates, or Livejournal reverse chronological feed you were done.
Algorithmic recommendation is editorial, and if social media companies were made accountable for it–would they then stop?
There is a distinct lack of talking about the accountability gap in #ukPol. Amazon selling advertisements to marketplace sellers hawking dangerous/faulty counterfeit goods with no consequences. Influencers boosting their reach hawking damaging grey market tanning nasal spray using TikTok’s built in systems to make a small commission.
Both of these have large companies shrugging about the specific harms they cause as there was no human intervention on their part, so no accountability?
Considering the bullshit spouted in many UK newspapers, somehow #ukPol sees better regulation of their editorial line than big American tech companies. It’s a gap that could quickly be fixed.
And my theory is that they’d abandon the algorithm if the consequences were greater than the profit they gain from it.
And maybe we’d go back to seeing your friend’s posts on Instagram, with a less addictive product. Once you’ve caught up it has nothing left for you to do. So one can put their phone down.