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The new year is a time for resolutions. This year, governments, platforms, and campaigners all seem to have hit on the same ones: Children should spend less time online, and companies should know exactly how old their users are. From TikToks infinite scroll to chatbots like xAIs Grok that can spin up uncensored answers to almost any question in seconds, addictive and inappropriate online options leave legislators and regulators worried. The result is a new kind of arms race: Lawmakers, often spooked by headlines about mental health, extremism, or sexual exploitation, are turning to age gates, usage caps, and outright bans as solutions to social medias problems. Just in the past week, weve seen Grok become Exhibit A in the debate about harmful content as it helps undress users, while states consider or enact bans, blocks, and time limits on using tech. Right now, the regulatory debate seems to exclusively focus on how certain internet services are net negatives, and banning access to minors to such services, says Catalina Goanta, associate professor in private law and technology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. That black-and-white approach is easy for politicians to parse, but doesnt necessarily communicate the nuance involved in tech and its potential for good. The scientific debate shows us a much more nuanced landscape of what can be harmful to minors, and that will depend on so many more aspects than just a child having a phone in their hands, says Goanta. Legislators are moving quickly to throw a protective shield around younger users. A December 2025 proposed law in Texas would have required Apple and Google to verify user ages and get parental consent for minors app downloads, but was blocked just before Christmas. Meanwhile, as outright bans are being blocked, states are pushing forward with rules that cap social media access. Virginias default one-hour daily cap for under-16s was launched with a requirement for commercially reasonable age checks. However, it has already been challenged in court by a lawsuit filed by NetChoice, an association that seeks to make the Internet safe for free enterprise and free expression. The group, which includes Amazon, Google, Meta and OpenAI as members, says imposing a time block on social media is like limiting the ability to read books or watch documentaries. All of the laws have been challenged, and the court’s ruling on the Texas law doesn’t bode well for the other state laws, says Adam Kovacevich, founder and CEO of the Chamber of Progress, which he describes as a center-left tech industry policy coalition. But, he says, some of this tough talk is also allegedly helped by big tech firms themselves, It’s important to keep in mind that the app store age verification bills have been written and advanced by Meta, largely as a way of getting themselves from defense onto offense. The Texas law is just one out of many that are cropping up around the United Statesand around the world. Across the Atlantic, France is pursuing an Australia-style ban on social media for under-15s this year, while the U.K.s official (if not likely) opposition party, the Conservatives, has also backed a social media ban for under-16s. That court challenge is an augur of whats to come in 2026, reckons Kovacevich. Legislators keep pushing and pushing with age verification mandates, warning labels, and design mandates, and they keep running into the same two buzzsaws again and again, he says: Users’ privacy rights and the First Amendment. The legislative surge is part of a broader tech temperance movement aimed at social media, apps, and AI. In the U.K., the Online Safety Act’s child-safety provisions came into practical effect in July 2025, requiring platforms likely to be accessed by children to implement “highly effective” age-assurance measures and shield young users from content promoting self-harm, suicide, violence, and pornography. With Grok, the law is facing its first big test for the body in charge, communications regulator Ofcom. Across the European Union, the Digital Services Act’s rules on minors’ data and recommender systems are also tightening. The question now is whether courtsand userswill tolerate the friction these laws create. Regulators have to resolve an inherent tension, says Goanta. Do we want children to have agency over their access to and conduct on the internetthe childrens rights narrative. Or do we consider that they have limited capacity because they are not yet fully developed, and their guardians get to make decisions for them? She points out that there can be plenty of solutions that fall between both extremes. But the resulting spectrum should be the focus of debates, and not moral panics.
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E-Commerce
Next week’s “Free America Walkout” is asking Americans to walk out of work (and school) on Tuesday, January 20, to disrupt “business as usual” in protest of the Trump administrations recent actions and policies, including its treatment of immigrants, attempts to curb democracy, recent abuse by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, and the recent fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. The protest’s main organizers are the Women’s March. The group came to prominence the day after President Donald Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, when it organized a massive nationwide protest, drawing hundreds of thousands of Americans to Washington, D.C. At that time, the protest on January 21, 2017, was the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. Now, nearly nine years lateralmost to the daythe Women’s March is back, marking the one-year anniversary of Trump’s second inauguration. On January 20, were calling on people everywhere to turn their backs on fascism and walk out, Rachel OLeary Carmona, executive director of Womens March, tells Fast Company. Authoritarianism runs on our obedience, and were withdrawing it. We walk out because a free America is the only America worth calling great. By disrupting “business as usual,” organizers explain they are sending a message to the administration that its actions will not be tolerated. This is a protest and a promise. In the face of fascism, we will be ungovernable, the Free America website says. Here’s what to know. What’s happening on Tuesday, January 20? More than 450 events are scheduled in all 50 U.S. states, as well as in Canada, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. Walkouts, sit-downs, vigils, and meetups are set to take place in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Boulder, Houston, New York City, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland (Oregon and Maine), San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Tucson, and Washington, D.C. These include school walkouts; marches to federal buildings, city halls, local court houses, and capitals; and more. Why a walkout, not a march? “Marches show how many people care. Walkouts show how much power we have,” the website says. “And we have seen the power of walkouts around the worldpeople from Poland to Chile who have fought peacefully and successfully to dismantle injustice and topple authoritarian regimes.” “At this moment, visibility alone isnt enough,” the website continues. “We need action that tests our strength, builds coordination, and proves that noncompliance is a legitimate response to injustice.” Historically, walkouts and sit-insalongside protestshave been an effective nonviolent tool to create change. From the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements to the current New York City nurses’ strike, workers, students, teachers, and ordinary Americans have walked off the job and sat in protest to register their discontent. Who else is helping to organize the Free America Walkout? The day’s events are organized by the Women’s March organization along with 50501, a progressive grassroots movement, with a coalition of national and local partners including Feminist, Free DC, and the Immigrant Rights Committee in Tampa.
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E-Commerce
As we head into the new year, I am facing a daunting prospect. After over 34 years in higher education as a professor and administrator, Im moving to the private sector to support more effective teaching practices. I would classify this change as a significant career pivot. I am changing market sectors (public sector to private) and shifting from serving a single institution to a global base of clients. Decisions like this are not to be made lightly. It is important to ensure that you are making this move to run toward something attractive and not just away from something that frustrates you. Here are three important considerations if you think a significant career move may be in your future. Why do you want to do this? Career pivots are generally rooted in dissatisfaction. There is something about the work youre doing now that is frustrating or unsatisfying. For many people, there is a particular crisis that initiates the real desire to take a pivot. It could be an illness, accident, or death in the family, or it could be a crisis at work. Crises are helpful, because they allow people to take stock of their lives. Significant milestone events like a birthday or the end of a year can play the same role. However, dissatisfaction provides energy to run away from something. A career pivot also involves running toward something. So, a successful career pivot must also involve a reason to take on a new role. One common career switch involves moving from a position that no longer fits your personal values to one that is a better fit to the values important to you. For example, you may have been focused on achievement early in your career and now feel like doing something that benefits society is more important than personal gain. It is useful to be explicit about the ways that a new job may be a better fit to your personal values, because that compatibility is a crucial source of long-term satisfaction. In addition, you want to ensure that you are clear-eyed about what a new career path entails. Just about every job has a certain number of frustrating tasks you have to put up with. You want to acknowledge the frustrations and drudgery of the path youre selecting so that you are not just engaging in the mythical belief that the new career path will be free of BS. How does your experience and expertise transfer? If you are going to be successful in the new role, there has to be something about your knowledge and skills that will enable you to contribute. Psychologists use the word transfer to name the capacity to take what you know and what you can do in one area and use it in another. As you contemplate this career pivot, talk to people who are already doing this work about their day-to-day work life. If possible, shadow one of them for a while. Think about how you would react or solve problems in the new work you would be doing. Are you able to take your experience and apply it in the new setting? At the same time, you want to be realistic about your willingness to learn. Some people are very comfortable in situations in which they are a relative novice. They dont mind being someone who needs to be helped along and may make a certain number of rookie mistakes. Making a career pivot involves learning a lot. Youre not going to be the most effective person at work when you start in the new role. If you find that exciting, then you are a good candidate to make a change. Where does your life satisfaction come from? Earlier, I mentioned one big source of life satisfaction, which is the fit between the results of the work you do and your values. But, that is not the only thing that will make your life satisfying. For one thing, you may not derive your greatest satisfaction from your work. Instead, you may have organizations, hobbies, or relationships that are a deeper part of what makes your life worth living. If so, you want to think about how the new responsibilities at work will relate to what is most important to you in life. For another, your happiness with work is not just in the relationship between the mission of the organization and your personal values. The day-to-day engagement with work is also going to affect how you feel. Long commutes can suck the life out of you, even if you like the work youre doing. If you are someone who needs to be around people a lot, then a job that is mostly done remote may not feed your desire for social interaction. How does the work youll be taking on relate to the things you do and do not like to do? Look for some ways that your daily work life will bring with it a few elements that will be truly enjoyable so that you can envision yourself getting out of bed excited to take on the day rather than wishing that the weekend would arrive sooner. I explored all of these questions as I moved toward my new career path. Im excited to share more details about it over the next few weeks.
Category:
E-Commerce
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