Opening Insights: Social Media is Responsible
According to Cornell Law School, Eggshell Skull Rule is a:
Doctrine that makes a defendant liable for the plaintiff's unforeseeable and uncommon reactions to the defendant's negligent or intentional tort. If the defendant commits a tort against the plaintiff without a complete defense, the defendant becomes liable for any injury that is magnified by the plaintiff's peculiar characteristics.
Social media companies know what they have done and are doing to our children, workers, culture and world. They created an addicted client base with an attention span of 8 seconds. That's one second less, and counting, than a Goldfish.
Finally, countries and communities are paying attention. Yet their solutions are to make the social media companies pay a tax, rather than change their ways. There is a solution to reversing the effects of social media, but first, let's briefly explore an excerpt of Lucas Nolan's article Published by Breitbart on October 11, 2017.
Informational Insights: Is Social Media Safe?
...BBC News reports that Karen Bradley, the UK’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has called for social media companies to pay for the “undeniable suffering” that their platforms can cause. Bradley wants companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to agree to a “voluntary” code of conduct and fund anti-abuse and cyber-bullying campaigns.
According to Bradley, legislating her plan would take “far too long,” so she has instead chosen a “collaborative approach” with Internet groups and companies and believes that she sees “willingness to cooperate” on their part. “Many of them say: ‘When we founded these businesses we were in our 20s, we didn’t have children… now we’re older and we have teenagers ourselves we want to solve this,” she claimed.
Bradley claims she believes the Internet has been a revolutionary tool in the 21st century and has acted as an “amazing force for good, but it has caused undeniable suffering and can be an especially harmful place for children and vulnerable people. For too long there’s been behaviour online that would be unacceptable if it was face-to-face.”
Bradley’s proposed plan includes an annual transparency report which would include:
- the volume of content reported to companies and the proportion taken down
- how users’ complaints are handled
- categories of complaints, including from under-18s, women, the LGBT community or on religious grounds
- information about how each site moderates content
Bradley said that legislation on the issue could be possible in the future adding that the following principles would have to underpin any changes made to law:
- What is unacceptable offline, should be unacceptable online
- All users should be empowered to manage online risks and stay safe
- Technology companies have a responsibility to their users
Facebook responded to Bradley’s ideas, saying, “Our priority is to make Facebook a safe place for people of all ages which is why we spent a long time working with safety experts like the UK Safer Internet Centre, developing powerful tools to help people have a positive experience. We welcome close collaboration between industry, experts and government to address this important issue.”
Source: //www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/10/11/social-media-companies-face-online-abuse-penalty/
Possibilities for Consideration: Breeding Robots
The article brings to light several issues that we need to consider:
- Social Media companies are aware of the damage they cause people, culture and society as a whole!
- Taxing social media companies will do nothing to prevent their abuse and manipulation of people - that is their business model!
- Taxing social media companies will open the door to economic, city and country grants and funds to find a solution to reversing the damage social media has and continues to do!
- Businesses, organizations and schools have a unique opportunity to take advantage of the social media tax, and do something to change their culture and empower their employees, communities, and learners!
Add Your Insight
Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.
ALDOUS HUXLEY