So now we need the government to treat us all like children who are incapable of making our own rational decisions?

People are sometimes capable of making rational decisions, but there's a whole industry (advertising, maybe you've heard of it) dedicated to working against that.

Think of really any common sense regulation:

- Can't use leaded gasoline

- Can't use asbestos

- Must wear a seat belt

- Cannot drive while intoxicated

If people always behaved well, we wouldn't need laws. They don't, so we do.

All of those cases cause external harm to other people. Logging into FB and posting memes doesn’t.

I’ve known people who have been harmed by logging into FB. Sometimes it’s the memes, comments, DMs, and disinformation that causes harm. Sometimes it’s Facebook running a social experiment without consent to see if they can alter users’ moods.

So now we are going to regulate every company that allows you to post memes and does A/B testing?

Are we going to have the “Ministry of Truth” to make sure that no direct messages don’t have anything false?

How can you say this seriously? Disinformation on FB had a huge impact on the 2016 election in the US.

So do we want a “Central Department of Truth” to regulate Facebook?

We don’t have to choose between Ayn Rand and George Orwell here. There are plenty of things FB can do to regulate the flow of information. A couple basic ideas are to apply the libel standard and to ensure the news feed isn’t full of hyperbolic echo chamber garbage. Stuff mainstream media outlets have been doing for decades, and has been effective.

I feel like you’re not discussing in good faith; please try and be sympathetic to the idea that Facebook’s pursuit of ad revenue has an outsized negative effect on our society. You act as though nothing is wrong and any regulation we apply would be completely illiberal. Neither is true.

Would you like every platform that allows users to post comment to be held liable for the content the user posts - including HN?

Again, no one's talking about holding platforms liable or establishing "Ministries of Truth". Maybe take it down a notch?

What I would like is for Facebook to gatekeep "news" posted on its platform. Traditional media does this, it's called "the editorial process" and is--while not perfect--super effective. I'm not saying you can't post life updates or hot takes, but I am saying they shouldn't be mixed with news that's been through the editorial process and held to journalistic standards by professionals.

I would also like people who run ads libeling people to be subject to civil lawsuits, and for that Facebook would need PII for people who run advertisements. I don't know if they already have it; if they do great. They then need to make it available when a court asks for it.

Yes. A government taking care of the citizens like parents do would be the best case scenario.

please tell me you are being sarcastic.