Social media bill would ban ‘addictive’ features, outlawing autoplay and infinite scrolling

Social media companies would be legally prohibited from building “addictive” features into their products under a bill offered Tuesday by Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri Republican.

Entitled the Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology Act, or “SMART Act,” the legislation would outlaw features including autoplay and infinite scroll, effectively putting platforms such as YouTube and Facebook at risk of coming under fire from the Federal Trade Commission unless reformed.

“Big tech has embraced a business model of addiction,” Mr. Hawley said in a statement. “Too much of the ’innovation’ in this space is designed not to create better products, but to capture more attention by using psychological tricks that make it difficult to look away. This legislation will put an end to that and encourage true innovation by tech companies.”

The legislation would explicitly ban platforms from implementing autoplay and infinite scroll — features that allow users to access content without interruption — and instead require that products be designed to include “natural stopping points.” It would also prohibit companies from awarding users for their participation on platforms while requiring they provide tools for users to monitor and cap their time spent on social media.

The bill makes exceptions for music playlists and music streaming services, as well as “achievement” badges intended to drive access to new services or functionality.

Mr. Hawley, 39, opened an antitrust investigation into Google in 2017 while serving as Missouri attorney general. He was elected the following year to represent the state in the U.S. Senate, where he has since introduced several bills aimed specifically at “big tech.”

Representatives for neither YouTube nor Facebook immediately returned messages requesting comment.

Tristan Harris, a former Google designed ethicist, testified on Capitol Hill last month about the use of deceptive practices including infinite scroll during Senate subcommittee hearing held on the subject of persuasive technology, The Verge noted.

“So if I take the bottom out of this glass and I keep refilling the water or the wine, you won’t know when to stop drinking. That’s what happens with infinitely scrolling feeds,” he testified.