Ep. 218: A warning label on social media?

There is a movement afoot to restrict young people’s access to
social media and pornography.


Critics of social media and online porn argue that they can be
harmful to minors, and states across the country are taking up
the cause, considering laws that would impose age-verification,
curfews, parental opt-ins, and other restrictions.


Meanwhile, critics of the critics argue that the evidence of harm
isn’t so conclusive and that many of the proposed restrictions
violate core civil liberties such as privacy and free speech.


So, who’s right?


Clare Morell is a senior policy analyst at the Ethics and Public
Policy Center and the author of the forthcoming book, “The Tech
Exit: A Manifesto for Freeing Our Kids.”

Ari Cohn is free speech counsel at TechFreedom, a technology
think tank.


 


Timestamps


0:00 Intro


2:17 The alleged harms of social media


11:31 Just another technological moral panic?


25:49 How is internet access currently restricted for minors?


41:17 The age verification problem


1:00:27 Assessing the First Amendment problems


1:07:21 Voluntary measures parents can take


1:25:30 Outro


Shownotes


Transcript


“The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is
Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by Jonathan Haidt


“Surgeon General: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social
Media Platforms” by Vivek H. Murthy