Social media, bill to ban algorithm addiction

A bill aims to ban 'addiction' to social media. It was signed by the Pd in the Senate, just as the debate is raging in the United States. A ruling in California has condemned Meta and Google to pay compensation to a young woman who claimed to have suffered damages due to her excessive addiction to the Instagram and YouTube platforms.

The Italian bill, co-signed by PD senators Antonio Nicita and Lorenzo Basso, aims to introduce algorithmic dependency and algorithmic influence among the practices prohibited under specific conditions, and to strengthen the accountability of the top management of large digital platforms and artificial intelligence systems within the framework of existing European rules.

"The decision taken in Los Angeles is a judicial confirmation of what has been emerging from increasingly solid scientific evidence for some time and which politics can no longer leave unanswered. Algorithmic design and the interfaces of large platforms are not neutral: they can induce forms of algorithmic dependence and unwanted algorithmic influence, with concrete and measurable effects on people, especially minors,' state Senators Antonio Nicita and Lorenzo Basso.

The bill tackles the main risks of the digital ecosystem in an organic manner, with the aim of filling a regulatory gap that today concerns the protection of individuals, the transparency of systems and the responsibility of those who design and govern AI platforms and models. The text is part of a rapidly evolving international context, amid new regulatory guidelines and increasingly stringent checks on the practices of large platforms.

"Digital platforms and artificial intelligence systems are no longer mere tools. They are environments that guide behaviour, relationships, consumption, training and access to information. This is why we need clear, effective and up-to-date rules that put people at the centre and not dwell time or maximisation of engagement'.