[iamnothere]

This is exactly what will happen, Meta will just add a “next page” thing after 100 items that does a cool animation when you click it and the feed will continue as usual. Meanwhile we’ll start stacking up similar bills everywhere else and small operators will close down when they start getting worried about keeping up with 50 states worth of different regulations.

Goal achieved: media centralized.

[dudefeliciano]

I'm trying to think of a small operator that absolutely needs inifinite scroll on their site for their product to "work" and nothing comes to mind.

[iamnothere]

This is irrelevant. It’s a question of rights and of creeping unconstitutional “regulation” that will begin to infect all aspects of software development and online publishing. The line has to be defended here.

[dudefeliciano]

What exactly is unconstitutional about regulating infinite scroll? Did your founding fathers fight for indipendence from GDPR?

[iamnothere]

Regulating the format and presentation of displayed information, on some kind of online publication, is almost certainly regulation of speech. 1A violation.

[inigyou]

It's as much of a 1A violation as regulating that you can't preach the gospel with a megaphone in the middle of Times Square.

[iamnothere]

Times Square is a physical place with limited space. It has multiple uses and the road or sidewalk you’re standing on is a publicly owned thoroughfare. Your megaphone might damage the hearing of non-audience passerby if you have it turned up really loud.

That said, such a regulation would actually be unconstitutional unless it’s narrowly aimed at real concerns like blocking traffic. Snyder v. Phelps established that you can go protest with signs saying “God Hates F*gs” and yell at people during a military funeral. Believe it or not, sometimes free speech may be distasteful and disruptive.

The virtual world is very different. The audience is willing, there’s no passerby, no blocking traffic. Competing rights go out the window.