Social Media’s Tobacco Moment Is Bigger Than You Think As the first social media addiction trial delivers its verdict, the tobacco wars show us what comes next.

As the verdict arrives in the first social media addiction trial, this moment is bigger than it looks.

It is not just the case. It is the growing recognition of harm.

This is the pattern behind Unwired.

Social Media’s Tobacco Moment Is Bigger Than You Think
open.substack.com/pub/gaiabern...

Why AI companions need public health regulation, not tech oversight | Brookings Gaia Bernstein argues for a public health framework for AI regulation to protect children from the technology's emerging harms.

President Trump recently issued executive order on AI reiterates a long held view that technology should operate with minimal oversight.

My new Brookings commentary argues why AI companion bots demand a fundamentally different regulatory framework.

www.brookings.edu/articles/why...

Delegating Tasks to AI: When Convenience Quietly Replaces Competence From cooking recipes to hotel bookings, how small choices reshape our capabilities

Started using AI for tablets, then hotels, then... recipes I actually enjoy researching myself.

MIT study: ChatGPT users underperformed non-users.

When convenience replaces competence, we lose more than time.

open.substack.com/pub/gaiabern...

We Are Rushing Into the Same Mistakes We Made With Social Media Let’s press pause on AI chatbots for kids

I am pleased to share my guest essay published on Jonathan Haidt's substack After Babel. I explore how we can avoid making the same mistakes we made with social media with AI companion bots.

We Are Rushing Into the Same Mistakes With Social Media
www.afterbabel.com/p/dont-repea...

A poster with a blue background with photos of faculty members from Seton Hall and their forthcoming scholarship. You can read the actual names of the pieces here: https://law.shu.edu/news/seton-hall-law-facultys-latest-scholarship-makes-an-impact.html

As we are about to start the new school year, it's exciting to see all the forthcoming scholarship by my fantastic Seton Hall Law colleagues! Read more about it: law.shu.edu/news/seton-h...

Welcome to Digital Crossroads Our Digital Path is Paved with Small Choices

I have just launched Digital Crossroads on Substack. Here I post how technology shapes our world through countless small choices we make without thinking; and how tech policy affects everyday life. I hope you will consider subscribing.

open.substack.com/pub/gaiabern...

So proud of my wonderful Seton Hall colleague
@gaiabernstein.bsky.social! Wishing you a productive and fun sabbatical year @brookings.edu 🔥🔥🔥 law.shu.edu/news/profess...

Trump-backed bill may ban AI laws for a decade Congress is considering a provision in the reconciliation bill that would block states from regulating artificial intelligence for 10 years. Here are four things to know.

I interviewed with #Politifact about the dangers of imposing a ten year moratorium on AI state legislation.

Re the impact on kids online safety and and education:
'When you're thinking about kids, that’s a whole generation ... You can't undo this experiment."

www.politifact.com/article/2025...

Companies Rely on Delaware Courts. Lawyers Reap Huge Fees There.

I am quoted in this New York Times article about how the proposed moratorium on states regulation of AI could halt efforts to protect kids from excessive screen time, related online harms and AI companion bots.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/b...

The AI generation: Balancing technology and socialization in education YouTube video by Brookings Institution

I spoke yesterday at the Brookings Institution event about AI companions; kids; socialization and education. You can watch the recording below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJzm...

Incredible to see "Moral Panic or Public Health Crisis? Lessons From Drugs and Gambling for 'Addictive' Design" now out in print!

With my amazing @EmoryLaw 2L coauthor, Kevin Yan.

When was the last time you saw a Music Man epigraph?

digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcont...

Why experts say AI companions aren't safe for teens — yet Youth mental health and safety experts are most worried about these AI companion features.

I was interviewed by @mashable.com about AI companion bots: "There is an opportunity to intervene before the norm has become very entrenched," says Gaia Bernstein, a tech policy expert and professor at the Seton Hall University School of Law.

mashable.com/article/ai-c...

I am honored that the Seattle University Law Review just published a symposium volume on my book: Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies.

The symposium focuses on Addictive Technology and Children. Please check it out.

digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/sulr/

Just published - my new article: Gatekeeping Screen Time: Configuring the Regulation of Addictive Technologies and Kids' Privacy Rights papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Please tune in to my conversation with Andrew Keen on the risks of AI companions.

Last opportunity to register to Seton Hall Law School's AI Companions online symposium tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 18 ,12 pm-2:30 pm EST. You can register here: : bit.ly/40Ztl2j

Please join us for our online symposium on AI companions, to be held on Tuesday, Feb. 18 12 pm-2:30 pm EST. We will explore how are AI companions manipulative? What is the business model? What can parents do? And what are the legal options to regulate them? You can register here: bit.ly/40Ztl2j

‼️Children's data is at risk without their knowledge or consent.

Rethink how we safeguard children's digital futures with our Exec. Dir. Leanda Barrington-Leach, Dr. @gaiabernstein.bsky.social, Baroness Shields & @chriswmckenna.bsky.social.

📌Davos, 23/1
🖊️Reg: futurehousedavos.io?autoopen=1 #WEF2025

🤔Who controls your child's data?

Join our ED. Leanda Barrington-Leach, Dr.
@gaiabernstein.bsky.social, Baroness @joannashields.bsky.social & Chris McKenna on 23 Jan in Davos to rethink how we protect children in a data-driven world.

Register now🖊️ futurehousedavos.io?autoopen=1
#WEF2025 #davos2025

Giving Up on the Truth? Meta Announced It Will Discontinue Fact Checking

My Substack post about Meta's announcement that it will discontinue fact checking, while continuing to provoke anger and discord through its addictive algorithm. And all is done at the expense of their most vulnerable users - kids.

open.substack.com/pub/gaiabern...

The Tech Industry’s Playbook To Prevent Regulation The Tech Industry is using an old trick – shifting the responsibility entirely to us

"'You chose to use our product, so you are fully responsible for the harms.' The tech industry applied this strategy by extending responsibility to the parents of their minor users."
@gaiabernstein.bsky.social
After Babel
tinyurl.com/5n7md6t9

The Tech Industry’s Playbook To Prevent Regulation The Tech Industry is using an old trick – shifting the responsibility entirely to us

I am pleased to share my article on Jonathan Haidt's Substack "After Babel." It explains how the tech industry learnt from the tobacco industry to evade regulation by shifting responsibility to its consumers - in this case the parents.

www.afterbabel.com/p/tech-indus...

Should We Want to Fix Social Media? I watch my followers dwindle on X while growing on BlueSky. The cycle of social media migration continues, leaving me wondering - do I really want to start over again? Was it ever that good to begin w...

New blog post: Should We Want to Fix Social Media?
gaiabernstein.com/should-we-wa...

On my way to DC to speak at the Summit on the Future of the Internet. I was at DC just a month ago for another conference, but it feels much heavier traveling there now.

summit.projectliberty.io?fbclid=IwY2x...

My new article about who should legislatures make the gatekeepers of kids screen time: parents, tech companies or both?
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....