American high school teacher here (Midwest region). We implemented a policy this year banning cellphones in instructional spaces during instructional time. Enforceable by confiscation if teachers saw or heard a phone. We have a strong set of administrators who supported teachers in any case where there was student pushback. It has been a huge success in terms of limiting distractions during instructional time. All of our students are provided Chromebooks so there really isn’t much of an instructional reason to have phones anyway. It has also contributed to a drop in student-on-student behavior problems.
I do feel for the girl in this article for whom it was used as a coping mechanism for bullying. No policy comes with zero downsides. However, it sounds like she was allowed exceptions in certain cases, which is exactly what should happen.
I find the “digital commons” and the “online town square” metaphors to be poor ones when thinking about moderation on social networks. It’s shoehorning analog concepts onto digital information transmission systems. The two are not the same. Harassment and misinformation spread happen very differently digitally than they do in the analog world. “Digital commons” metaphors are prominent amongst “free speech” hardliners like Dorsey and Musk who simply don’t want to go through the hassle of developing, funding, and creating policy for online speech moderation. Anyone who uses phrases like digital commons loses a fair amount credibility in my eyes.