I had an interesting thought about whether governments could impose a tax based on how much time users spend on different apps. Given that these platforms can track user engagement accurately, would it be possible for them to implement something like an 'attention tax'? For instance, if someone spends over 30 minutes on an app, the company would owe a small fee, say €0.001 for every additional minute. This could even be structured to be progressive. I know this idea might sound a bit out there, but I'm genuinely curious about its technical feasibility. I've searched for similar discussions or projects but haven't found much. I believe such a tax could help lessen the aggressive competition for users' attention and address some issues arising from the attention economy. So, what would be needed to roll out an 'attention tax' for social media platforms?
6 Answers
These ideas sound good in theory, but let’s be real—companies are just going to double down on advertising and data selling to offset any new tax. Plus, think about the chaos of tracking actual usage versus just leaving an app open. Instead of complicating things, it'd be way simpler to just tax the profits directly!
Honestly, if a law were passed to implement this, then sure, it could happen. But let’s be real, it’s a pretty dumb idea overall, which probably explains why you couldn't find much on it.
I get where you're coming from, but if users are spending more time on an app, that often means more profit for the company. So in a way, they are already indirectly taxed by their own business model.
You mentioned it could be technically feasible since the data's tracked. But I'd ask—what's the end goal of this tax? Is it just to raise money, or is there a bigger picture to discourage excessive usage? And also, where does it stop? Would it just be for apps, or does it extend to things like books and gear that promote certain activities?
Yeah, tracking attention time is definitely doable since most apps already monitor how long users are on them. But honestly, the bigger hurdles are political and legal. For example, in the U.S., there are First Amendment questions around taxing activities that relate to free speech and religion.
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