Show Notes
As YouTube and Meta defend themselves over addictiveness in US courts, Europe is throwing the spotlight on TikTok, making the Chinese-owned company its big test case for this form of Digital Services Act enforcement. But the DSA won’t be the last legislation used to tackle apps’ addictive nature – an issue that is still the subject of much debate.
Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful.
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REFERENCES:
Reuters on Meta and YouTube’s US trial https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/instagram-youtube-addiction-trial-kicks-off-los-angeles-2026-02-09/
BBC on TikTok settling addictiveness trial in US https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c24g8v6qr1mo
European Commission press release on its TikTok findings https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_312
ABC on the influential social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, who says social media is addictive https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/jonathan-haidt-anxious-generation-social-media-smartphones/103993554
Ford Forum on neuroscientist Dean Burnett, who argues against TikTok’s addictive nature https://www.fordforum.org/observer-essays/2025/07/24/addiction-fiction
Scientific Reports article by Ian Anderson and Wendy Wood: Overestimates of social media addiction are common but costly https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-27053-2
EU Legislative Train Schedule (yes this is a thing) on the Digital Fairness Act https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-protecting-our-democracy-upholding-our-values/file-digital-fairness-act
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