One state may be about to end the massive surge in livestream watching that’s taken over people’s time.
The world has become a challenging place to stay alert. Distractions are rife, and the overarching realization that just because technology advances, it does not necessarily influence laws has become an incorrect assumption. TikTokers, Facebook enthusiasts, and YouTube fans may be in for a shock.
How would you feel about being fined for watching your favorite live stream?
How have social media and livestreaming affected us as a society
Social media has become the bane of some people’s existence in recent years, but it wasn’t always viewed with such discontent.
When the earliest versions of Facebook and YouTube hit the internet, it was seen as a great way to stay in touch with friends and family. It also provided a new medium of entertainment that kept most of us staring at our phones for hours on end.
However, the evolution of technology has led us down a very dark road indeed.
The need to get as many likes as possible has forced social media users around the world into a corner of self-destruction. The impact of the newest form of entertainment has been both positive and negative, depending on how you look at it.
Technology: an expanding medium that affects the mobility sector
The expanding live streaming platforms of the world have made a major impact on us as a society.
It has rapidly shifted from a short-form medium of entertainment into an active, real-time, impactful media empire that has dominated the global screens of the youth and elderly alike. For the most part, driving while using social media or live streaming has gone unregulated until recently.
As we now know, much to our detriment, technology affects every part of our lives, especially in the mobility sector and the laws that govern it.
Recent innovations have seen autonomous vehicles littering the streets of the world, creating chaos and havoc in their wake in the worst cases. But what you might not be aware of is how technology has affected other areas of our ability to drive. And one state has had enough.
Some car manufacturers have seen technological progression as a step in the wrong direction.
And seeing how the nation’s lawmakers have become increasingly aware of the dangers that technology and live streaming present, making changes to the laws that govern both sectors has become a necessity to keep the roads, and us, as safe as possible.
One state will now punish you for interacting with your online fans
According to Bill HB320 from the Virginia Government, state officials may be about to implement new fines and charges for those who think that conducting a live-stream while driving, or even watching one, is acceptable behavior.
The bill proposed fining those who initiate, participate in, or even just watch a live stream while operating a motor vehicle.
Importantly, the bill has not yet been approved and has been sent to Virginia’s General Assembly for a vote. The proposed ban will lead to a $500 fine for the first offence, and a mandatory 30-day driver’s license suspension for the second time a driver breaks the new law.
A third offense will put you in even hotter water with the long arm of the law and will result in a 90-day driving license suspension.
The bill also proposes an additional $500 fine if the incident led to a traffic collision. But to be fair, it does provide the singular exemption for reporting an emergency or crime while partaking in a live stream.
How will this proposed bill affect the millions of live-streamers across the nation if it is passed?