More or Less · Topics · Episode #164
The Budweiser Problem: Selective Enforcement vs. a National Rule
Clip from the full recording, 12:14–18:09 · download mp4 · watch at this point on YouTube
Meta says it will cut the teen limit to one hour if TikTok, Snap and YouTube agree too. Jess finds tying safety to competitors distasteful; Sam says going after one company while the others run free just pushes kids to the worse product.
The fight here is over the conditional clause in the settlement: Meta’s two-hour teen cap drops to one hour only if TikTok, Snap and YouTube sign up too. Jess is fine with corporate warfare and full-page ads daring rivals to match, but says making a safety measure contingent on what competitors do “doesn’t sit well.” Her analogy: society decides alcohol should be banned under 21, but if Budweiser and Tito’s agree we’ll move the age. Dave agrees with her completely.
Sam flips the analogy. Telling only Budweiser it can’t sell beer over 3% while everyone else sells 6 or 8% doesn’t protect anyone; teens just buy the stronger beer. If society had the will to say kids should have one hour of social media a day, pass that for everyone and Meta is on board. Selectively enforcing on the biggest checkbook is theater that hurts one company with no upside for kids, who hit their Instagram limit and bounce to YouTube where there are no controls at all. Brit sides with Sam and wants alcohol-style labels and a single rule for all platforms set by “higher powers.” Dave adds that YouTube is the most nefarious offender and that Roblox should simply be banned. Jess concedes the company-by-company approach is wrong but remains uncomfortable that the debate now openly concedes the exposure is harmful and reduces to haggling over one hour versus two.
Key points
- Jess: a safety measure that gets stronger only if competitors agree is a business tactic dressed as protection. Dave agrees.
- Sam: capping only Budweiser at 3% while rivals sell 8% just moves teens to the stronger product; the same logic applies to Instagram vs. YouTube.
- Sam: if society wants a one-hour rule, pass it for everyone; Meta is opening that door and asking for a real national conversation.
- Brit: label social platforms like alcohol and set one rule for all of them as a country.
- Dave: YouTube is worse than Meta, and Roblox should be banned outright. Sam agrees YouTube is the bigger problem.
- Jess: nobody should be dealing with this company by company, but she's uneasy that we're now negotiating how many hours of harm is acceptable.
Where they landed
Quotes
“We've studied alcohol and we feel like it should be banned if you're under 21. But if Budweiser and Tito's agree, we'll make it 19.”— Jess
“You can't let your beer be more than 3% alcohol, but everyone else can have six or eight percent. What do you think the teens are gonna buy?”— Sam
“YouTube is the most nefarious of all. And Roblox, I actually think Roblox should just be banned.”— Dave
Suggested tweets
“You can’t let your beer be more than 3% alcohol, but everyone else can have 6 or 8. What do you think the teens are gonna buy?” — Sam Lessin
Tweet this →Dave Morin: “YouTube is the most nefarious of all. And Roblox should just be banned.”
Tweet this →A safety rule that only kicks in if your competitors agree to it too — is that protecting kids, or protecting market share?
Tweet this →All topics · Full episode #164 + transcript · Subscribe on YouTube · Spotify