Facebook sends Nick Clegg to rebut co-founder Chris Hughes' call for breakup
No surprises here. Facebook does not support the co-founder Chris Hughes' proposal to split the world's largest social media company into three parts.
Here's how Facebook responded to the social network's co-founder Chris Hughes calling for a government-mandated breakup of Facebook: Nick Clegg, former UK Deputy Prime Minister, who once advocated for the breakup of monopolies in the UK.
"Facebook accepts that with success comes accountability. But you don't enforce accountability by calling for the break up of a successful American company," Facebook spokesman Nick Clegg said in a statement.
"Accountability of tech companies can only be achieved through the painstaking introduction of new rules for the internet. That is exactly what Mark Zuckerberg has called for."
New rules for the internet.
Oh, that sounds just great.
Zephyr Teachout translated this flaming pile of PR garbage the best.
Zuckerberg: To rebut the claim I am too powerful, I will have the former UK Deputy Prime Minister publicly disavow his prior anti-monopoly stance (now that he is paid by me) and promise to meet with other world leaders to painstakingly tell them what regulation suits me best.
U.S. lawmakers continue to urge the Justice Department to launch an antitrust investigation.