The European Union announced a ban on social media for children under 13, with restricted supervised access for ages 13-15, as part of the EU Kids Act to protect minors from addictive design and harmful content. The measure, detailed by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, will impose safe design obligations on platforms for users up to 18 and faces implementation challenges around age verification and privacy concerns.
Movements like Neo-Luddism and Permacomputing are emerging to reclaim power over technology, with the Summer of Ludd event in NYC exemplifying cultural resistance through theater and community engagement. The article outlines how tech companies have concentrated power through false substitutes for political organizing and evasion of democratic accountability, arguing that cultural revolution and civic engagement are essential to unwinding Big Tech's influence.