Professor Ellen P. Goodman’s “Assessing the NUDGE Act” was published by Tech Policy Press. The piece analyzes the recently introduced Nudging Users to Drive Good Experiences on Social Media Act and weighs the good and bad elements of the proposed legislation.
Professor Goodman writes, “The recitals use terms that are controversial and undefined. For example, what’s a ‘nudge,’ and how is it different from a dark pattern? What is addiction and how is it different from extreme popularity, or even usefulness? The recitals also group together manipulative and microtargeted ads, suggesting that microtargeting is necessarily bad in the same way that manipulation is. Perhaps these definitions may be addressed in the course of the study and problem definition required by the legislation, but more clarity in the Act itself may lead to better legislative outcomes.”
To read the full piece, visit Tech Policy Press.