Republican Demagogue Wants To Control How Much Time Americans Spend Online
William James
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) tweeted on July 31: “Social media ‘innovation’? What innovation? Big Tech doesn’t deliver for the American people, and that’s the biggest problem of all.”
According to a Wall Street Journal op-ed written by Andy Kessler, Hawley introduced S.2314, the Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology Act, the day before his tweet.
In a Senate speech he discussed the “cold and judgmental world of social media.” He also wrote a letter to Mark Zuckerberg calling Facebook one of the “forces parasitic on our national life.”
The bill would take away YouTube’s autoplay feature, and limit scrolling on Twitter and Facebook to three-minute sessions. It would set default limits on the sites to 30 minutes a day and take away “Snapchat streaks.”
The bill says that social media companies “interfere with free choices of individuals” by “exploiting human psychology and brain physiology.”
Hawley, along with other “postliberal” politicians condemn the ability of social media to change opinions and influence elections.
Kessler theorizes that Hawley’s statements are more about making a splash and less about passing laws.
Read the full story here.
