on social media is that technology companies bear the weight of consumer responsibility, and governments must play a role in regulating these companies.capitalist environment — where states have shifted to become promoters of markets, and where all aspects of our public and personal lives are influenced by the economy — companies are often permitted to pursue profit for shareholders while “responsible” use is downloaded to individuals or local governments.
As the UNESCO report authors note, “The commercial sphere and the commons pull in different directions. The growing influence of the education technology industry on education policy at the national and international levels is a cause for concern.” Our societies must advocate for governments to act in regulating technology companies. This includes enacting and enforcing age limits for social media apps, curtailing access to children’s data and curbing technology companies’ presence as the education technology industry in schools.is not that cellphones should be banned in schools.
The authors find that to “understand the discourse around education technology, it is necessary to look behind the language being used to promote it, and the interests it serves,” and that most of the evidence of the value of ed-tech in schools is produced by the companies selling it.