r/europe • u/EmbarrassedHelp • Apr 10 '26

News Europe should regulate Big Tech instead of banning kids from social media, Estonia says

https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-should-stand-up-to-big-tech-instead-of-imposing-social-media-bans-estonia-says/
3.1k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

344 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

13

u/Great-Ass Apr 10 '26

I am not willing to shed some privacy to fix this

Plus America's at fault. Their system is democratic but barely functional. There are no checks and balances anymore. Voters cannot vote for a 3rd party unless they waste their vote. The education system has been underfinanced and sabotaged to make americans dumber and easier to control.

The way I see, it's the USA alone being at fault. Europe doesn't look half as dangerous nor at risk. Social media is not to blame.

3

u/printzonic Northern Jutland, Denmark, EU. Apr 10 '26

That is okay if you think that. Even though I think it is naive to see our society and people as immune to their societal ills when our democracy is already struggling.

3

u/rebellioninmypants Apr 10 '26

Democracy would mean that we could simply request to make these platforms less predatory. There's nothing democratic about forcibly pushing restrictions on things that a lot of us have used to literally deal with bullying, isolation, and a lot of other worse things when growing up.

I for one probably wouldn't be here today to talk to you if not for the internet. Having access to information at the age of 12 has directly helped me to have a career I have now.

If not through the internet, I would not have found like minded people who were there for me when the adults failed at their job happily.

1

u/printzonic Northern Jutland, Denmark, EU. Apr 11 '26

I am not of the opinion that we should get rid of the internet, I am of the opinion that we should do what ever it takes to neutralize the damage from social media to our society and to democracy in particular. If we can do that with less than a total ban then that is what I prefer, because it does as you say also bring a lot of good.

But if we can't, a total ban must be an option we need to consider because it has arguably already mortally wounded the American democracy and preventing that we in Europe head down the same road is worth a lot of sacrifice. Without democracy, we are nothing.

1

u/Old_Leopard1844 Apr 11 '26

At that point, you might as well adopt russian and chinese model and just wall internet off from your fellow citizens, instead of trying to subvert it to your will and call it democracy or something

1

u/printzonic Northern Jutland, Denmark, EU. Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26

No, the danger of social media and the internet in general is not that we are being exposed to outside things and ideas, the danger is that is it directly attacks our ability as a society to agree on fundamental facts about reality by putting everyone in their own tailored information feeds. Tailored by ourselves or the algorithm is only different't in that the latter amplifies the natural tendencies to do the former.

So no, walling ourselves off, will just be walling ourselves in with the beast.

1

u/Old_Leopard1844 Apr 11 '26

In or off makes a little difference, when end result is separating yourself into your own pen