What I have in mind is a body of ten people from outside the government appointed by a bipartisan House committee to formulate standards for social media to abide by. They would develop regulations to be passed by Congress to help stop pedophiles from grooming, drug dealers from selling online, psychic memes that harm children, known addictive algorithms, and many more items that are harmful, especially to minors.

One of their charges would be to encourage free speech and debate, especially in the political arena. A watchdog could be put in place to stop the government agencies from censoring or discouraging free speech. In other words, stop what’s happening right now.

A difficult task, but we managed to put rules and regulations in pace for auto traffic, airline operations, radio broadcasts, movies, and TV. None perfect, but all helped the industries create order and safety out of what could have been a chaotic situation. Without standards and rules, the crooks, grifters, snake oil salesmen sexual deviants, and more weasel their way into things and create what we now have in social media.

If you have a better idea, please share it.

Look at recent Biden administration attempts to manipulate FB and Twitter.

https://commoncts.blogspot.com/2024/03/former-democrat-tulsi-gabbard-they.html

ps. could you pls add CC to your blogroll? thanks!

https://twitchy.com/amy-curtis/2024/03/08/the-intercept-fbi-secret-files-2020-violence-n2393718

And, while that feature can be unused or even unactivated, it’s child’s play to activate it, and adolescent sharing of logons and network access is common.

Were someone to produce an inexpensive cellular telephone that has only 10-number dialing and voice capability I suspect aware parents (and security mavens) would embrace it, despite how hated it would be by the under-twenty set. (I’m aware there’s a justifiable need for texting, which would be hampered, but not seriously obstructed, by the standard 10-key interface; were sending texts impossible on the device it would reduce the distractions).

I think minors can have cellphones at a younger age, but there’d have to be restrictions of some sort — what/which/how/etc. would fall above my (now-retired) pay grade.

I say *eighteen*. Even that’s pretty young, but okay, I’ll stop there. (I was a callow, dumb-#ss kid even at twenty.) These juveniles’ minds are not fully developed, their hormones are raging; I can trot out all the usual arguments, but I won’t.

Off-topic anyway. By the way, I’m a crotchety old geezer, too, and d#mn proud of it.