Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

#1773 How Big Tech Captured Attention, Kids, and Democracy

Feb 24, 2026
They dig into how attention economies and push notifications monetize involuntary focus. The sale and new ownership of TikTok and its data rules raise political control worries. Court cases frame social media like Big Tobacco as families sue over youth addiction. Ring’s Super Bowl ad and camera rollouts spotlight AI surveillance and civil liberties threats.
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ADVICE

Require Privacy First Age Verification

  • Demand age verification systems built privacy-first, using technologies like zero-knowledge proofs to confirm age without collecting personal data.
  • Push for regulation that requires privacy-preserving verification rather than surveillance-based solutions.
INSIGHT

Attention Harms Undermine Democracy

  • Platform harms to kids and to democracy form a feedback loop: engagement-maximizing features radicalize information environments, which then blocks the political will to regulate platforms.
  • Breaking that loop requires both legal wins and sustained political organizing.
ANECDOTE

State Undercover Sting Backs Safety Claims

  • New Mexico's AG used undercover decoy accounts to catch predators on Meta and says internal Meta documents show executives ignored red flags.
  • The state plans to present arrests and internal communications as trial evidence.
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