The Soapbox

Joined: 12/28/2002 Posts: 207
Likes: 108

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Break up Facebook?

Co-founder of Facebook writes that Facebook should be broken up à la Standard Oil and AT&T.

But I'm not so sure those examples apply here.

Standard Oil and AT&T were accused of illegal practices intended to sustain their monopolistic position (e.g. subsidizing low-ball pricing with revenue from tangential sectors).

What has Facebook done? Their service requires no monetary exchanges, and the barrier to entry into the social media space is low. Their apparent failures (e.g. fake news from Russian interference) have nothing to do with monopolisitc activity per se. Those failures must be addressed, but breaking them up for said reasons seems akin to curing muscle spasms through amputation.

Have I missed some more nefarious deed?

Link: Chris Hughes' OpEd

Posted: 05/09/2019 at 6:36PM

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Current Thread:

Break up Facebook? -- VisorBoy Hokie 05/09/2019 6:36PM

I don't think Facebook should be broken up. We're doing this all wrong. -- MaizeAndBlueWahoo 05/09/2019 7:52PM

I'd go in almost the opposite direction -- Capital City Hoo 05/10/2019 08:56AM

It’s a lot more nuanced and complex than that. The Marsh case has been -- WahooRQ 05/10/2019 08:41AM

Facebook is not the only place where you can advertise publicly... -- VisorBoy Hokie 05/09/2019 8:38PM

Rights do not get taken away just because there are other places to -- MaizeAndBlueWahoo 05/09/2019 9:29PM

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or -- 111Balz 05/10/2019 06:54AM

So is it okay for a gay person to be turned away by a baker? -- Hokieesith 05/09/2019 9:03PM

That's different. ** -- ResistHoo 05/09/2019 10:33PM

Wait, so you believe Facebook and Twitter SHOULD be able to ban people? ** -- VisorBoy Hokie 05/09/2019 9:11PM

No. But I assume you think it’s okay for a baker not to bake -- Hokieesith 05/09/2019 9:16PM

I don't think the baker should have been compelled to bake the cake... -- VisorBoy Hokie 05/10/2019 6:13PM

That’s correct. ** -- Hokieesith 05/10/2019 7:42PM

Like the libs, you want it both ways -- CavMan1 05/10/2019 08:36AM

This one (and others in tech) will be tough -- Capital City Hoo 05/09/2019 7:47PM

They don’t need to be broken up, they need some regulation. -- Hokieesith 05/09/2019 7:34PM

Why must they? It's a forum with standards of behavior, just like this -- 81_Hokie 05/09/2019 8:45PM

But that isn’t exactly what happens. See the Joe Rogan podcast -- Hokieesith 05/09/2019 8:51PM

Huh? That is exactly what happens... -- VisorBoy Hokie 05/09/2019 9:07PM

The argument is it's the de facto public square. ** -- hoodeyo 05/09/2019 10:19PM

Like I said. Watch that podcast. That’s not exactly what happens. -- Hokieesith 05/09/2019 9:12PM

But it’s not like the baker/cake example. -- Hoojack 05/09/2019 9:50PM

Could you summarize your point instead? ** -- VisorBoy Hokie 05/09/2019 9:14PM

Sure. Liberals are given much more leeway on these sites than -- Hokieesith 05/09/2019 9:18PM

Thanks. That's what I thought, but I only caught a brief snippet... -- VisorBoy Hokie 05/10/2019 6:20PM

But the problem is that twitter has to judge whether a person -- Hokieesith 05/10/2019 7:45PM

Subjective judgments are made all the time by companies to better... -- VisorBoy Hokie 05/14/2019 5:46PM

Because liberals are less accepting of others opinions? -- Hokieesith 05/14/2019 5:49PM

Twitter isn't censoring people for their ideas... -- VisorBoy Hokie 05/14/2019 5:56PM

Hmm. I think that is questionable. ** -- Hokieesith 05/14/2019 6:12PM

Completely disagree that they have an obligation to allow all speech... -- VisorBoy Hokie 05/09/2019 8:32PM

Must? Why are they any different from the public Sabre boards? -- Old Dorms Rule! 05/09/2019 7:59PM

Why should a baker have to serve gay people? -- Hokieesith 05/09/2019 8:12PM

Access vs behavior -- Old Dorms Rule! 05/09/2019 10:07PM

Not to mention, there is an open legal question as to whether websites like -- WahooRQ 05/10/2019 11:03AM

Sheer number of users is exactly it -- MaizeAndBlueWahoo 05/09/2019 8:10PM

I thought this post was spot on then and become even more relevant today. -- Hoos Operator 01/12/2021 12:33PM

Not sure the Soapbox was ever intended for civil discourse -- MaizeAndBlueWahoo 01/12/2021 12:57PM

Hmmm -- Old Dorms Rule! 05/09/2019 8:44PM

It's illegal already to behead someone -- MaizeAndBlueWahoo 05/09/2019 9:28PM

Hmm again -- Old Dorms Rule! 05/09/2019 9:49PM

If Facebook can ban people for the views they hold -- MaizeAndBlueWahoo 05/09/2019 10:47PM

Old Dorms is being exceedingly polite, but he’s an attorney and, if you -- WahooRQ 05/10/2019 08:53AM

They were not banned for their "views". They were banned -- 111Balz 05/10/2019 07:20AM

Bad behavior, like saying there are only two genders? ** -- Hokieesith 05/09/2019 10:08PM

Are they a business? ** -- Hokieesith 05/09/2019 8:56PM