It’s about time that legislators put these tech giants in their place!
While politicians have long talked about the importance of curtailing the power of large technology companies, relatively few to date have actually done so.
Until now.
And, most shockingly of all, Kamala Harris’s former running mate – Tim Walz – is one of the most public faces of the fight back against Big Tech.
“Minnesota lawmakers have approved a measure requiring social media platforms to display a warning label, cautioning about the negative impacts of its use on mental health … The measure specifically notes the warning label cannot be exclusively provided in a platform’s terms and conditions or include “extraneous” information reducing the visibility of the warning,” The Hill reported.
About darn time!
The Hill also noted that the bill would soon grace the desk of Governor Tim Walz, who is widely expected to approve the bill.
Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the Trump’s leading allies, has long lambasted the pernicious influence of social media as well.
“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency – and social media has emerged as an important contributor. A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe,” Ramaswamy declared.
And, in a rather strange turn of events, none other than Walz was the first to heed Ramaswamy’s call.
For too long, social media companies have served as de facto parents for veritable generations of young people worldwide.
The effects of which are rather evident in chronic protests across varied educational campuses, coupled with many individuals’ inability to focus – not to mention inability to empathize – with someone right in front of them.
Rather obviously, social media giants have also been linked to an enormous sea of social ills, chief among them the rather militant transgender movement that appears to have gripped not only the United States, but also the European Union and United Kingdom.
Naturally, the amalgamation of the negative effects of social media – courtesy of large technology platforms – has deepened political polarization worldwide.
As a result of social media “education” these days, many people are more involved in politics than ever.
Unfortuantely, they are also more disinformed than ever, as evidenced by the blatant level of cognitive dissonance on display at varied pro-Hamas protests on college campuses.
Indeed, watching transgender militants cheer in favor of Hamas is a tad disconcerting – especially when the terrorist organization horrifically hurls individuals off the roofs of buildings for daring to be merely gay.
Needless to say, what Hamas might do to someone who identifies as transgender is even more frightening.
That said, social media appears to be the “root cause” of many a millennial’s ignorance, not to mention the ignorance of Generation Z and so forth.
Which makes the recent stand taken by Minnesota lawmakers highly encouraging.
With any luck, they will set the bar for multiple other states to follow.
In the meantime, one can only hope that the long-promised sale of TikTok will take place as promised …
Author: Jane Jones
