So, we are giving up privacy in all our electronic communications because a bunch of companies can’t stop running algorithms to drive up engagement? From the article above, it seems Snapchat messaging would work just fine if kids had to touch phones to exchange contacts. Versus putting everybody in 24x7 AI surveillance, the lesser bad here is to forbid those algorithms, even if that bankrupts the platforms.

I'm not sure it's that straightforward. What the article shows is that even a legal, commercial, and publicly known platform serves this content. What it doesn't show is all the other contexts kids may encounter it.

large companies would break democracy if it interfered with income

they used to send 9 year olds into the mines

But think of those poor megacorps! How will they ever turn a profit without their precious algorithms? Invading every user‘s privacy is only morally right! What else could they, or governments, possibly do? Make line not go up? I shudder to think!