This sounds like a type of insanity. Why would anyone care about something like this to the degree they feel like expressing the opinion publicly let alone in a political regulatory body is beyond me.

Whatever happened to freedom?

Maybe you're not the type of person who's struggled with addiction, but it can do awful things to you. Yes, including being addicted to scrolling social media. It screws with your head to the point where you don't know how to live in the moment anymore.

IMO it's a feature that's not valuable enough to justify the fact that it contributes to poor quality of life for people who can't put it down.

> Why would anyone care about something like this ...

Because it is a dangerous addiction [1] with recognised adverse effects on human health. Like sugar, tobacco, or drugs.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46959832

> Whatever happened to freedom?

Freedom from, or freedom to?

    ‘Freedom does not consist in doing what we want, but in overcoming what we have for an open future; the existence of others defines my situation and is the condition of my freedom. They oppress me if they take me to prison, but they are not oppressing me if they prevent me from taking my neighbour to prison.’ -- Simone de Beauvoir

>Why would anyone care about something like this to the degree they feel like expressing the opinion publicly

Why would anyone publicly express any negative opinion about the effects of doomscrolling? I don't think I'm uncharitably paraphrasing, right?

Social Media companies have actively and intentionally tried to make their products more addicting... now they have to face the very obvious consequences of that decision.

Because it impacts me, and I don't want it to impact me anymore?

Not because I use these products, but because I have to live in a society with these people, and if they are unhappy and angry, that impacts me directly, through various second-order effects.

We live in a society. We chose rules that we think will make society better. Freedom is meaningless without context. Freedom to doomscroll or freedom from doomscrolling. American propaganda really likes to divorce the concept from reality.

Nothing happened, just that the bureaucrats are slowly catching up with new technologies to make them as free as everything else

People have less free will than we'd like to admit. I'd like to have freedom from outdoor advertising and online monopolies shoving short video formats down my throat.

Out of curiosity, do you or have you ever worked for one of the FAANGs?

We have great freedoms in Europe. We just need to apply in advance with our detailed plan, in three copies and the Commission will decide whether to deny our application or to deny it and fine us for unhealthy thoughts, too.

Sarcasm now, but maybe what the near future will look like...

More to the point: this is indeed a massive overreach with the Commission being the police, judge, jury, and executioner... what could go wrong? Exactly what we are seeing is taking shape, precedent by precedent.

Why would someone care about a destructive addiction that's plaguing the lives of the majority of the planet, leading to mental health issues and proliferating massive levels of misinformation. I wonder. Freedom to be manipulated by algorithms, yay!

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it turns out that all those jokes about EU regulating the curvature of the cucumber were on to something

>Whatever happened to freedom?

Turns out it was a big lie you've told yourself so you can let the rich and powerful get away with atrocities.

Hey, we all have free speech, it's just that I can buy a whole lot more of it than you can.