Airlines Enforce Headphone Use

United Airlines updated its contract of carriage to require passengers to use headphones when playing audio or video on personal devices and may remove or permanently ban travelers who refuse; the airline says it will offer free wired earbuds to forgetful passengers. This is a formalized, enforceable policy change that turns a common courtesy into an airline rule backed by sanctions. — This signals a broader trend of private transport and platform companies codifying everyday behavioral norms and using bans as enforcement, with implications for corporate power, accessibility, and limits on expression in shared spaces.