The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently hosted a summit titled “The Attention Economy: How Big Tech Firms Exploit Children and Hurt Families.” On the surface, this sounds like a well-intentioned initiative aimed at protecting kids from harmful online content. But as Market Institute Senior Fellow Norm Singleton explains in his latest piece for RealClearMarkets, this summit is less about protecting children—and more about expanding federal control over speech, technology, and parental authority.
“’It’s for the children’ is often the rallying cry of the worst type of tyrant: one who acts out of a sincere belief that they are taking away the people’s liberty for their own good.”
At the summit, panelists—including FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson—advocated for mandatory age verification and a broader regulatory framework to curb what they see as Big Tech’s corrupting influence. But as Singleton points out, these proposals often violate Americans’ constitutionally protected right to anonymity, and they push the FTC far beyond its mandate to protect consumers from unfair practices.
One speaker even suggested the government has a duty to “encode certain values into technological design.” As Singleton warns:
“Mr. Toscano’s statement assumes that there exists some social consensus about what promotes human flourishing and the common good. But that is not the case.”
There’s no question that protecting children is important—but that responsibility belongs to parents, not bureaucrats. Singleton highlights existing tools, like Louisiana’s LA Wallet or device-level parental controls developed by private firms, as far better solutions than federal mandates.
“In a free society, government officials must accept technological and social change with resignation. Otherwise, they will violate the people’s liberty and prevent the widespread adoption of beneficial changes.”
Read the full piece at RealClearMarkets to understand why the FTC’s latest crusade threatens liberty under the guise of safety—and why parents, not the federal government, should decide how to raise their kids.
