Dear valued client,
Markets rose again this week as the U.S. House of Representatives and the White House have less than a week to hash out a deal regarding debt ceiling negotiations. The absence of an agreement by the end of next week would be political suicide for the Biden Administration and a financial disaster of global proportions.
In tech news, the European Union slapped Meta with a $1.3 billion fine over data transfers. Even for Meta… that’s a lot of money! The fine is a result of Meta allegedly violating the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation by sending European user data back to the United States. Zuckerberg has already said he would appeal what he described as a “dangerous precedent.” If the ruling stands, Facebook’s future earnings would take a hit as its business model revolves around selling user data for targeted advertising purposes.
In global aerial news, France became the first country to outlaw domestic flights on routes that would take less than 2.5 hours to travel by train. Though the move is mostly symbolic, the goal is to reduce C02 emissions from aircraft. Though airlines are probably not pleased, it will be interesting to see if more European countries follow suit.
Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General, issued a public advisory this week warning of the considerable risks social media poses to young people’s mental health. The report outlines two types of dangers associated with social networks: content-related problems, such as negative self-image or bullying, and use-related problems, such as poor sleep and addiction. The report included worrying statistics, including;
- The number of teens and young adults with clinical depression doubled between 2011 and 2021.
- In 2021, the CDC found that nearly 25% of teenage girls had made a suicide plan.
Though a more causal link between social media and mental health is being sought by researchers, many lawmakers are pushing ahead with restrictions on teens’ use of the various platforms. For instance, Utah became the first state to establish a curfew for teens on social media apps and mandated that parents have access to their children’s accounts. Other states are considering similar legislation.
This begs the question; are we all just lab rats participating in a decades-long social experiment? Something to think about.
“The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.” – Eric Schmidt
Have a terrific weekend,
PW
