RTVE’s weekly program “La Semana” recently examined the attention-economy business model and a 2026 U.S. trial involving Meta and YouTube [1].
The discussion highlights the intersection of psychological engineering and legal accountability, signaling a shift in how governments view the responsibility of social media platforms for user addiction.
In the seventh episode, titled “En busca de tu atención perdida,” host Pepa Bueno interviewed former Facebook executive Arturo Béjar. The program analyzed how digital platforms engineer compulsive habits to maximize user engagement. Béjar said that platforms design their interfaces to create dependence and capture the attention of the user [2].
Bueno said that the goal of “La Semana” is to offer a space for deep analysis regarding the major challenges facing current society [3]. The episode specifically addressed the legal repercussions of these design choices, citing a landmark legal battle in the United States. A narrator for RTVE Noticias said that the 2026 trial marked a milestone by holding Meta and YouTube liable for the addictive design of their services [1].
The program, broadcast on RTVE’s platform in Spain and uploaded to YouTube, explores the mechanisms used by the attention economy to maintain user focus. By focusing on the 2026 trial, the broadcast underscores the transition from internal corporate critiques to external judicial mandates [1].
Béjar provided an insider's perspective on the strategies used to keep users scrolling, while the program framed these actions as a systemic challenge to public health, and cognitive autonomy. The broadcast serves as a critique of the business models that prioritize time-on-platform over user well-being [2].
““Las plataformas diseñan sus interfaces para crear dependencia y capturar la atención del usuario.””
The reference to the 2026 US trial indicates a legal precedent where the 'attention economy' is no longer viewed as a neutral business strategy but as a potentially harmful product design. By holding companies like Meta and YouTube liable, the judicial system is shifting the burden of safety from the individual user to the architects of the software, potentially forcing a global redesign of social media interfaces to reduce compulsive use.
