POLITICS: Kids, and parents, win against Meta

This week’s court victories against Meta were described as victories for children.

They are also big wins for parents.

In New Mexico and then again in California, juries found the Silicon Valley giant liable for harm resulting from its algorithms and its encryption technology.

The algorithms allegedly get kids hooked; the encryption lets creeps send them private messages without detection.

The court rulings could result in sweeping changes across the tech industry.

But more important, perhaps: The rulings could result in major changes around the kitchen table.

Speak to any parent with a teenager — or even a toddler — and you’ll hear about how their kids refuse to be parted from their screens.

Most of the entertainment they watch online is mindless, amid a few genuinely useful educational programs.

But the social media platforms also provide a higher level of risk.

Children may be exposed to suggestive images and videos, if not outright sexual content.

They are also bombarded with content about body image, or consumer products, or politics — much of which is designed to fly below parental radar.

Even kids who aren’t looking for ideological content can find themselves bombarded with videos seeking to indoctrinate them.

They may also be contacted by strangers with bad intentions — sometimes older children, and sometimes adults posing as kids.

The dangers are real.

And few children have the willpower to put their devices away. (It’s hard enough to convince adults to do so.)

The algorithms are designed to deliver a dopamine hit directly to the brain — every time a familiar dance flitters across the frame, or every time another user crushes the “like” button.

The courts that ruled against Meta have given a new tool to parents who want to reassert their authority and limit their children’s screen time, as well as their potential exposure to predators.

Now that juries have found that social media can be harmful to your health, parents can cite an even higher authority.

No one wants to hear their parents use the “Because I said so” argument.

But if a judge and jury said so, to the tune of millions of dollars in punitive damages, it’s not about whether mom and dad are cool.

It’s about public health, and the law.

Silicon Valley has been a great engine for innovation and economic growth.

But it has also behaved, at times, as a law unto itself.

The tech giants decided that they would censor the news when The New York Post exposed the Hunter Biden scandal in 2020.

The Biden administration then enlisted Silicon Valley in a campaign to censor dissident views on the coronavirus pandemic — and much else besides. 

The tech world seems to believe that the way to evade responsibility is to switch political loyalties from one side to the other, as needed, shifting in the political winds.

The court rulings against Meta are a reminder: We just want Silicon Valley to do what is right.

And that starts with protecting children from inappropriate content and dangerous adults.

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