> Facebook doesn't profit from divisiveness, they profit from engagement. The fact that divisive posts encourage more engagement tells me more about people in general, rather than Facebook's business model.
"Crack dealers don't profit from drug addiction, they profit from the pleasurable effects of consuming crack. The fact that very addictive drugs are pleasurable to consume tells me more about people in general, rather than crack dealer's business model."
I’m fine with legalizing crack as long as producers and distributors are heavily regulated and held accountable for their impact on public health, just like the alcohol and tobacco industry.
Social media conglomerates manipulate how billions of people perceive the world around them, with disastrous effects. They should be held accountable for that.
Absolving them of all guilt, and blaming all the nefarious effects of social media on the consumers, accomplishes nothing.
Yes, and I don't see crack dealers as the problem in your example. The bigger problem is how society views drugs, addiction, and the criminalization of both. We've all seen how well that's worked for us. Thinking we could apply similar bans on speech we don't agree with is just as stupid.
Both things can be true. Some dangerous drugs are excessively criminalized and that causes enormous problems. Others are legal but heavily regulated, like alcohol and tobacco. Some are legal and insufficiently regulated, which causes enormous problems too: see for example the ongoing opioid crisis in the US.
Nothing good comes from denying the dangers of an addictive drug, or leaving its distributors free to misbehave without consequence. That is the current situation with social media companies and their enormous influence on our minds.
I don’t think we should ban social media. But not holding multi-billion dollar social media conglomerates accountable at all is lunacy.
"Crack dealers don't profit from drug addiction, they profit from the pleasurable effects of consuming crack. The fact that very addictive drugs are pleasurable to consume tells me more about people in general, rather than crack dealer's business model."