China issued new regulations banning people without proper credentials from offering any tips related to health, finance, or education online. The FTC just released a similar playbook.
Just like with electric cars, the US takes forever to do anything, while China just gets things done with a better approach:
Late last year, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued a sweeping regulation: any content creator discussing medicine, health, law, finance, or education must prove verified professional credentials before posting or going live. In essence: no degree, no license, no post.
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In all, China’s approach is preemptive: One has to prove their credentials before they post. The FTC’s approach is reactive, allowing American creators to post health tips or investment opinions without a diploma. The FTC only steps in after the harm is documented—but for both, if the creator lies, they pay up
The US has freedom of speech, so having the government vet every poster is kind of a problem. Also, both the US and China give licenses to woo-woo doctors like traditional medicine doctors and chiropractors. It adds a hurdle, but isn’t going to stop people from becoming supplement salesmen.
That’s true, but it could be the platforms doing the vetting rather than the government.
I’m frankly not sure if that’s any better. It’s not in the interest of the platforms to do a proper job of it especially if said platforms allow payments through them and get a cut of the sales. So it ends up being the government to enforce it and that opens up another can of worms.
Just like with electric cars, the US takes forever to do anything, while China just gets things done with a better approach:
The US has freedom of speech, so having the government vet every poster is kind of a problem. Also, both the US and China give licenses to woo-woo doctors like traditional medicine doctors and chiropractors. It adds a hurdle, but isn’t going to stop people from becoming supplement salesmen.
Giving legal/medical advice is technically practicing.
Offering an opinion… is another matter.
That’s true, but it could be the platforms doing the vetting rather than the government.
Is it any different to requiring an ID in order to use a service, like what Discord is doing (as required for legal compliance)?
I guess I’m just annoyed at how much bad health advice is on social media.
I’m frankly not sure if that’s any better. It’s not in the interest of the platforms to do a proper job of it especially if said platforms allow payments through them and get a cut of the sales. So it ends up being the government to enforce it and that opens up another can of worms.