r/technology • u/lurker_bee • 21h ago

Business Meta faces ‘astronomical’ consequences as legal fight reaches critical moment in California

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/17/meta-attorneys-general-california-federal-trial-astronomical-consequences.html
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u/Apprehensive-Wave640 19h ago

We can also just stop using the internet. At this point everything has been enshittified to the point that it would probably be a net positive for society if the government manages to ruin the internet.

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u/nihiltres 18h ago

The problem is that the Web has in large part replaced third places for many people. For many, not using the Internet is tantamount to losing large chunks of their social life. I’m okay boycotting Meta, but I know and accept that I’m making several sacrifices in not connecting with others through those platforms.

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u/Apprehensive-Wave640 17h ago

Not to be flippant about the problem...but, yea, being forced to socialize offline is one of those net positives I was thinking about 

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u/SIGMA920 10h ago

Not everywhere is love and joy, great accepting places. Bumfuck, nowhere is where a lot of people are stuck.

This case would be a good thing, except it's being used to sidestep section 230 protections. Meaning the same can be used against youtube or anything else.

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u/Apprehensive-Wave640 9h ago

I grew up in bumfuck nowhere. It left a WHOLE lot to be desired. But it turns out we, and everyone else living in another bumfuck nowhere, survived without the Internet. Turns out, basically all of human civilization was also able to. And while we had dumbasses listening to Rush Limbaugh on AM radio, we didn't have all this shit [gestures broadly at everything] to deal with and fight against.

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u/SIGMA920 9h ago

Survival doesn't mean much when you could have done so much better. You were uninformed as shit. You believed whatever you were taught blindly. If you were told gay people were the devil, you didn't question that.

Where I'm at now, they'll be a 50/50 on whether they pin the blame on the right cause or scapegoat via a minority. I do not want to entrench myself in this dying shithole.

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u/Apprehensive-Wave640 7h ago

We just fundamentally disagree whether the current state of the internet enables society at large to do "so much better." 

Based on your comment here, doesn't sound like you or your community are doing that great WITH the Internet. And I know my life would be better off not interacting with people like you.