Posted on: August 01, 2019 03:30 PM

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SMART Act bill introduced to combat social media addiction

Snapstreaks, YouTube autoplay, and endless scrolling are all coming under fire from a new bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), targeting the tech industry?s ?addictive? design. Hawley?s Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology Act, or the SMART Act, would ban these features that work to keep users on platforms longer, along with others, like Snapstreaks, that incentivize the continued use of these products. If approved, the Federal Trade Commission and Health and Human Services could create similar rules that would expire after three years unless Congress codified them into law. Some companies, like Apple, already have tools that help users track how much time they?re spending on different apps and websites. If this bill were to become law, social media companies would be required to implement similar tools that track use across all of the devices a user owns.