Addiction economy: Can regulators rein in social media platforms?
Description
Will history remember this as the day the planet started to rein in big tech? Australia is firing the first shot by banning under-16s from platforms and social media that include giants such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. We of course ask if rebellious teens will make light work of the ban. More broadly, is this the day regulators start treating merchants of scrolling the way they do tobacco and drinks giants: like businesses with a penchant for encouraging addiction?
In tech, profits can be measured in data – often our personal data – and traffic. The longer users stay engaged, the more can be billed to advertisers – any advertisers, even scammers.
A report back in June by Reuters found that Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, made a whopping 10 percent of its revenue from scammers in 2024 – scammers that sometimes use forced labour to cultivate potential victims.
We ask about the will to crack down on cyber crime and, more broadly, to regulate a "views at all costs" business model, especially when big tech is so beholden to American billionaire tech bros – who certainly have a friend in Washington these days.
Produced by François Picard, Charles Wente, Rebecca Gnignati, Ilayda Habip & Jean-Vincent Russo
United States
