Social Media ruled Addictive, Homeschooling is Booming, and Trump Flip-Flopped on FISA

March 23-30, 2026

A Jury Just Called Social Media What It Is: Addictive by Design

A Los Angeles jury ruled last Wednesday that Meta and Google deliberately built addictive platforms that damaged a young woman’s mental health. Meta was hit for $4.2 million, Google for $1.8 million. The dollar amounts are pocket change for companies spending $100 billion a year on infrastructure. The precedent is not.

This is the first time a jury has validated the legal theory that social media platforms can cause personal injury: the same legal framework that broke big tobacco. Thousands of similar cases are now pending across the country. The day before, a New Mexico jury found Meta liable for misleading users about platform safety and enabling harm against children, including sexual exploitation, ordering the company to pay $375 million in penalties.

Meta said it’s “confident in its record of protecting teens online.” Google called YouTube “a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.” Meanwhile, the soaring teen depression rates don’t lie, and it’s well known these companies hire psychologists to try to make their products as addictive as possible.

Exit & Build: Remove social media from your kids’ devices today. Replace the dopamine slot machine with books, outdoor time, and real human interaction. If you’re an adult who feels the pull, set app timers or delete the apps entirely. The jury confirmed what you already knew: these platforms were engineered to hook you.

Sources: Reuters, NPR, The Guardian

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Parents Are Voting With Their Feet, and Homeschooling Is Booming

A new Johns Hopkins University report confirms what the exit-and-build crowd already suspected: homeschooling is surging again. In Michigan alone, homeschool rates jumped from 5.04% of K-12 students in 2022-23 to 6.58% in 2023-24. During the pandemic peak, U.S. Census Bureau data showed it hit 11.3%.

New Hampshire is leading the deregulation charge: the state House passed legislation eliminating requirements that parents notify the state they’re homeschooling and removing rules requiring periodic evaluations. Meanwhile, Connecticut is trying to go the opposite direction with new surveillance requirements for homeschool families.

Exit & Build: If you’ve ever thought about homeschooling but felt intimidated, you’re not alone, and you’re more capable than you think. The American Enterprise Institute published a piece this week titled “Yes, You’re Smart Enough to Homeschool Your Kids.” Start with your state’s legal requirements and a local co-op. The community is massive and welcoming.

Sources: The Alpena News/Johns Hopkins, The Federalist, AEI

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The Federal Government Still Wants to Spy on You Without a Warrant

In 2024, Donald Trump posted “KILL FISA” in all caps. This week, his administration is pushing for an 18-month clean reauthorization of Section 702 with zero reforms. Another politician, another flip-flop. As disappointing as it is predictable. The folks who think Trump is somehow not part of the deep state are plainly not seeing the evidence.

The April 20 expiration is approaching. Prediction markets give 64.5% odds it gets renewed before it expires.

Section 702 was built for foreign intelligence, but the “data broker loophole” lets federal agencies buy Americans’ location data, browsing history, and app usage from commercial brokers: no warrant required. This week, 17 state attorneys general sent a letter to Congress demanding the loophole be closed before reauthorization. Vermont, California, and Maryland all issued independent press releases.

The bipartisan pushback is the silver lining.

Exit & Build: Use a VPN. Use Signal. Use cash. Assume your phone is a tracking device, because it is. The EFF’s Surveillance Self-Defense guide is free and covers the basics.

Sources: Reason, The Intercept, Vermont AG