I work at Meta. They'll spend 1/10,000th of that on lawyers and lobbying instead. There's a zero point zero percent change that even a fraction of this gets paid.
And the people suing know that too - they're just trying to grab headlines.
this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2026
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Also it's generally understood that these lawsuits are just ways for countries to get money from Meta, since it looks a lot better than saying you're taxing the social media giants
Facebook and instagram shutting down might be the greatest thing to happen to society in the last 20 years
Yes,
and there have been replacements. WhatsApp, Twitter, BlueSky, even Mastodon should probably die. And that waste of goddamn space Pinterest, whose only purpose is to hold someone else's image in a lower resolution and sometimes have any information or source. It's just a dead end for research.
My mother-in-law at least used to use Pinterest for pulling together ideas for decorations, arts, and crafts. It seems to help her find inspiration. I figure if it is making a difference in how someone is living their life, it had at least as much merit as the bullshit that pervades most of the Internet.
True, for anyone like me who sees it as a detriment there are folk like your MIL whose life was improved by it, and I'm glad she finds it useful. And if/when it does shut down and she's still into crafts I hope she finds a decentralised alternative that won't succumb to the whim of shareholders.
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Won't happen, but it would be really nice
I would laugh very hard at his misfortune.
And the note they would end on in the history books, too.
Misfortune?
I'd rather say very well fucking deserved consequences.
When I think these ghouls cannot be more soulless and harmful, they pull things like this out of the arse that is their entire body
Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard
Zuck: Just ask.
Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS
[Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How'd you manage that one?
Zuck: People just submitted it.
Zuck: I don't know why.
Zuck: They "trust me"
Zuck: Dumb fucks.
Don't be a dumb fuck, do not trust Zuck.
It's so crazy that this came out and is widely known and even people who know about it keep using his service while he is still CEO. Some segments of the masses are truly beyond saving. I guess Zuck wasn't wrong about them being dumb fucks at least
Fuck that guy
I wouldn't, he's ugly
What about for 1 million?
Those are rookie numbers
This is why I never made a Facebook account, seemed pretty clear to me.
Shut them down. It would be a huge net win for people everywhere. It is horrible seeing friends, family, clubs and institutions all captured by meta. They are a blight on society.
Good. Break them up. Criminally charge their leadership.
This. It's not enough to just break up or dissolve the companies. The people who profited and ran the company must see prison time for shit like this or it will just keep happening.
Steal food, 10 years of prison
Enrich yourself by actively harming the most vulnerable part of the population, the monetary equivalent of aslap on your wrist and 6 months of community service.
The justice system is intended to keep poor people in control and rich people at the controls.
Meta has literally been responsible for a huge swath of misinformation. The sooner that company dies, the better.
could
But won't
does zuckerborg care about human feelings, no hes trying to mimic humans. meta seems to be self-cannabalizing faster than other tech companies.
I'm not optimistic. Sure there have been (and will be more) settlements, but substantive policy change at the federal level is desperately needed.
If you know someone who teaches young people, go talk to them about how kids are in the classroom now. The teachers I know tell stories of kids who can't focus for more than 60 seconds, or answer a question when the answer is literally written on the board in front of them. They can't function without AI, and even worse, challenge teachers to explain to them why they need to learn something when AI models can do it for them. And administrators pressure teachers to just move these kids along despite their deficiencies. This is all on top of the well-documented mental health problems experienced (and likely caused by) social media use.
This is, in my view, already a crisis and I have the sinking feeling it won't be addressed in any meaningful way until the widespread social consequences are undeniable.
If we could focus our schools on one single thing, it would be Critical Thinking Skills. It's how humans are supposed to think, but it has to be taught, and it has to be practiced. Everything else can be looked up on Google, but Critical Thinking Skills require active intervention to learn. Critical Thinking Skills allow us to immediately recognize and reject nonsense like propaganda and scams, and make proper decision based on facts, not vibes.
Those who don't have Critical Thinking Skills adopt other chaotic methods of thinking, like Faith-Based Thinking, where you choose to believe anything an accepted authority tells you, no matter how outlandish. Or they embrace conspiracy theories, or fall prey to cults, like Mormons, or MAGA.
Conservatives are actively fighting the teaching of Critical Thinking Skills, claiming it encourages children to challenge/ defy authority figures, which is a healthy thing in a healthy society. The real reason is that it teaches people how to recognize their insidious propaganda, which is so vitally important to MAGA success. If people start seeing that propaganda for what it really is, Conservatism is doomed.
Everything else can be looked up on Google
I think that there actually is value to rote and memorization. Adding more knowledge to your head expands the possibilities for what thoughts you're able to have in a way that outsourcing to Google never could. My best example is GPS navigation vs mental mapping. A while ago, I stopped using GPS during my drives, instead spending some time to look over the map and memorize the directions before I set out. Since I started doing this, I have a much clearer mental map of the places I drive through. I can use my mental map to plan efficient outings, since I have a good idea of what places are close together and when/how to take alternate routes to avoid traffic.
The other problem with leaving things to Google is that it makes you less self-reliant and diminishes your ability to unplug from the internet and think and act in the real world. Sure you can use Google Translate, but actually learning a foreign language allows you to participate in conversations, appreciate jokes, and see the world through the lens of the relationships baked into another language (e.g. you see sparks and fireworks as "fire-flowers" because you know the words hibana and hanabi).
Also, analogies and examples form an important underpinning for critical thinking. And the best way to seed a student's mind with examples is to make them read a lot.
This is exactly why they don't want people to disconnect from the Internet. More eyes on things constantly translates directly to ~~as~~ ad revenue, which then translates to stock value and company valuation. It all boils down to money. If they make people so reliant on technology that they cannot think for themselves or carry out basic life functions without technology, then they've done their job.
While there are so many memes about millennials, etc., they are the last generation to be able to read paper maps, drive stick shift cars, use computers, cook, clean, navigate, have grit in place of instant gratification, think for themselves (at least the non-indoctrinated ones), do things without AI, amongst other things.
The newer generations are so heavily reliant on technology and AI that they cannot do a single thing without it. Even social interactions between them are very surface-level or nonexistent. We're doomed.
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i realize im completely out of touch with kids lives these days, but its hard to believe its really that bad with chatbots in school. like it sounds like hyperbole, so if its really that bad the next few decades are gonna fucking suuuuck
They are indeed going to fucking suck. Eventually these kids have to try and do actual work.
PLEASE God let there be SOME way for Trump to PROTECT this BILLIONAIRE!
-Republicans trying to Save The Children TM!
They’ll just get end up getting subsidies if they have to even pay anything
Subsidies for what? Those fines are like 3/4 of their market cap, there's zero way to pay that and remain an existing company.
i doub tthey get fined that much. but they are important to keeping boomers in the right wing spheres by peddling propaganda.
Not surprised at all. You guys keep using Instagram and Facebook like you always did.
Corporations make an addictive and dangerous substance so it is obviously the fault of addicted individuals
I'm American and quit using both in like 2010, thank you very much.
Same and I'm European.
Don't you go throwing accusations around like that.
Get owned fuckerberg
If WhatsApp could be broken back off of them then that would be great.
Here's hoping...
They can't keep getting away with this, they can't. This has to stop
It won't. I have almost zero hope.
Zuck Sux
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