Proposed new US law to curb social media addiction. Two US senators have introduced a new bill to tackle users’ addiction to social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.
The bipartisan proposal by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar and Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis will be studied by the National Science Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences.
Reuters quoted a statement from Senator Klobuchar office as saying that the two organizations would study the possible actions of other organizations, such as Facebook, in tackling social media addiction.
Last year, Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee who leaked internal information, sparked the technology services market. Haugen’s leaked document reveals that despite being aware of the adverse effects of Instagram on teenagers, the lure of profiteering has recently been suppressed by Facebook, which has a meta-name.
Haugen later testified at a Senate hearing that the social networking platform provided an opportunity to spread dangerously false information about the coronavirus and its vaccines. He also complained of various irregularities.
According to Reuters, the new policy will be developed by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) based on data from research by the National Science Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences. Failure to comply with the policy will result in disciplinary action against social media platforms.
Technology companies have been telling us for a long time, ‘Trust us. We can, but now we know that social media platforms have repeatedly given more importance to profit than people. Their algorithm displays dangerous content and spreads false information to trap users. This bill will address those issues, “said Senator Klobuchar in a statement.
Representatives of Reuters were not immediately available for comment. Facebook declined to comment directly but said in a December blog post that the company had promised to make a number of positive changes to Instagram.
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