EU to crack down on TikTok, Instagram ‘addictive design’ hooking kids

Please do (even though I personally don't use those apps). Including imposing more of the incredibly large fines the EU has become known for, and applying the bulk of them towards mental health services & initiatives. It's long past time those companies were held responsible for what they've done to rake in such insane profits.

The EU’s executive arm has also developed its own age verification app, which has the “highest privacy standards in the world,” according to Von der Leyen. Member states will soon be able to integrate it into their digital wallets, and it can easily be enforced by online platforms. “No more excuses – the technology for age-verification is available,” the EU chief said.

So more pro age-verification propaganda, instead of what the headline suggests: nothing concrete in that regard. How about devices with parental control for kids, which only allow access to platforms suitable for the demographic, instead of "age"-gating the entire internet (including for adults)?

Fuck YouTube shorts too.