Hard Fork
Hard Fork

Do Social Media Bans Work? + A Conversation About A.I. Consciousness + Tool Time

July 10, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Do Social Media Bans Work? + A Conversation About A.I. Consciousness + Tool Time

The Australian social media ban for teens has been in effect for about 90 days, and the early data is not encouraging for its proponents: more than 85% of kids reported still using social media three months after the ban took effect. But the hosts of Hard Fork argue that this early failure rate doesn't mean the bans are doomed — and that the real story is more complicated than either side wants to admit.

The State of Social Media Bans

A wave of social media restrictions for minors is sweeping the globe. Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Slovenia have either enacted laws or are preparing measures that would bar kids under fifteen or sixteen from TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and X. In the United States, the Supreme Court recently declined to block a Texas law requiring app stores to enforce age verification and parental consent for minors downloading apps. Texas, Utah, Louisiana, and Alabama have passed similar laws, and California has a less restrictive version taking effect in January requiring operating system providers to collect age information when setting up new devices. The movement is bipartisan, and nearly six in ten U.S. adults now support banning social media for under-16s, according to Pew.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (02:11) **Social Media Bans: The State of Play** - Casey and Kevin check in on the global push to restrict teen social media access, with Casey noting his prediction that 16+ will become the norm by 2026.
  • 2 (07:29) **Early Data from Australia's Ban** - A 90-day check-in finds over 85% of kids still using social media, but Casey argues the ban isn't a failure yet.
  • 3 (11:52) **The Candice Odgers vs. Jonathan Haidt Debate** - Casey critiques Odgers' argument that bans don't work, siding with Haidt's focus on direct harms like grooming and scams.
  • 4 (16:32) **Kevin's Skepticism and the Long View** - Kevin remains unconvinced by early data but Casey argues bans solve a collective action problem and will work over time, like seatbelt laws.
  • 5 (22:16) **The AI Companion Angle** - The conversation shifts to AI, with Kevin arguing for better parental controls on chatbots and worrying about blanket bans stifling creative use like a 9-year-old "vibe coding" a star chart app.
  • 6 (25:25) **Segment: A Conversation About A.I. Consciousness** - Introduction to the interview with NYU Professor Jeff Sebo, discussing his new report on empirically studying AI welfare.
  • 7 (31:07) **Defining AI Consciousness** - Jeff Sebo distinguishes between "access consciousness" (functional) and "phenomenal consciousness" (feeling), which is the key to moral status.

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Show Notes

This week, with news that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up Texas’ age verification law for app stores, we check in on how social media bans are going around the globe and what may be coming soon to a state near you. Then, we’re joined by Jeff Sebo, an associate professor at N.Y.U., to discuss new research into “A.I. welfare” and whether A.I. could ever become conscious. And finally, in our latest edition of Tool Time, we show each other some of the latest tech tools we’ve been experimenting with.

 

Guest:

  • Jeff Sebo, associate professor and the director of the Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy at N.Y.U.

 

Additional Reading:

 

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