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I would argue that apps resemble gambling more than they resemble sugar. And gambling is banned for children and heavily regulated for adults. More to the poin

I would argue that apps resemble gambling more than they resemble sugar. And gambling is banned for children and heavily regulated for adults. More to the point, I don't think it's fair to call parents stupid. Even if parenting weren't hard (which it is) it is not fair to expect everyone to get a Bachelor's in Software Engineering to use the one device that's almost indispensable for daily life. Nor is it fair to expect parents to monitor their children 24/7. I'd argue this is one of those problems that are so ubiquitous and so difficult to solve that we appoint people to deal with them as a full-time job in order to keep them from spiraling out of control. They usually solve it with regulation, which is exactly what the EU is doing here.

throwaway924385 2y ago
Right. Social media companies explicitly use the same addictive psychological reward mechanisms that are leveraged by companies that make slot machines. https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-methods-create-psychological-cravings https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-met...
throwaway83268 2y ago
>I would argue that apps resemble gambling more than they resemble sugar. And gambling is banned for children and heavily regulated for adults. Gambling is just video games/table games/board games with real money betting mechanics, and as far as I'm aware most social media is free to use. So when is the EU going to regulate actual legal children gambling in videogames, that is, microtransactions/gachapon transactions?
- hobs 2y ago
  They have? Do you play popular video games? Many of them have had to change their presentation or behavior based on regulation that's mostly sourced from the EU. Many games have region locks so they can perform more or less spying on people.
- WrongAssumption 2y ago
  They are looking at that as well. https://www.pcworld.com/article/1476642/europe-is-ready-to-crack-down-on-loot-boxes-and-other-exploitative-game-mechanics.html https://www.pcworld.com/article/1476642/europe-is-ready-to-c...

throwaway924385 2y ago

Right. Social media companies explicitly use the same addictive psychological reward mechanisms that are leveraged by companies that make slot machines. https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-methods-create-psychological-cravings https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-met...

throwaway83268 2y ago

>I would argue that apps resemble gambling more than they resemble sugar. And gambling is banned for children and heavily regulated for adults. Gambling is just video games/table games/board games with real money betting mechanics, and as far as I'm aware most social media is free to use. So when is the EU going to regulate actual legal children gambling in videogames, that is, microtransactions/gachapon transactions?

hobs 2y ago
They have? Do you play popular video games? Many of them have had to change their presentation or behavior based on regulation that's mostly sourced from the EU. Many games have region locks so they can perform more or less spying on people.
WrongAssumption 2y ago
They are looking at that as well. https://www.pcworld.com/article/1476642/europe-is-ready-to-crack-down-on-loot-boxes-and-other-exploitative-game-mechanics.html https://www.pcworld.com/article/1476642/europe-is-ready-to-c...