Social Media

Lawsuits Targeting Social Media Are an Attack on Free Speech

Tech companies that create social media apps should not be blamed for the complex mental issues of everyone who might use them.

Steven Greenhut | 4.10.2026 7:30 AM

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The definition of a trade-off is "a balancing of factors all of which are not attainable at the same time." We know there are no perfect choices in anything we do or buy. It's like that old maxim about any service. There's quality, speed, and price, but you can only pick two. In the realm of public policy, however, most people think they can have everything without any hard choices.

And so we arrive at the latest debates and legal verdicts about social media and technology. Almost all Americans are addicted, at some level, to smart phones, TV screens, and computers. Our lives have also been enhanced by them. I needn't detail the immeasurable benefits—the endless information and entertainment that's literally at our fingertips, or our ability to interact with others in ways that were previously unimaginable.

But there's a dark side. I can't manage to watch even the most engrossing movie without scrolling through my phone. Many young people spend more time on their phones than they do participating in healthy endeavors. Studies show some teens spend hours on their phones a day—and........

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