The Commentary Magazine Podcast Antisocial Media
10 snips
Mar 26, 2026 Recent court rulings holding major platforms responsible for harms to young users take center stage. They debate persuasive evidence that design features like infinite scroll and weak age-gates enable predators and addiction. The conversation also covers metaverse failures, AI training on copyrighted work, and whether lawsuits or legislation will drive change.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Lawsuits Focus On Design Over Content
- Lawsuits target platform design not just content to hold companies accountable for youth harms.
- Christine Rosen and John Podhoretz highlight infinite scroll, like buttons, and age-gate failures as architectural causes of addiction.
Delay Kids' Entry And Use Active Parental Controls
- Do strengthen parental controls and delay children's introduction to social platforms to reduce harm.
- Christine cites Claire Morrell's The Tech Exit and urges parents to treat screen access as asymmetric warfare requiring active strategies.
Section 230 Enabled Engagement-First Design
- Section 230 shield left platforms free to optimize for engagement rather than child safety.
- John Podhoretz explains platforms were treated like transmission vectors, enabling decades of unrestrained growth and design choices.
