What should be done with Facebook – break it up, or regulate it? | Damian Tambini

A consensus says that something must be done with the all-powerful tech platforms. But how far do governments go?

Facebook has finally been dragged to testify to politicians in Washington and London, and there is now a global consensus that something must be done about powerful internet platforms.

Not only has Mark Zuckerberg taken up semi-permanent residence on Capitol Hill, but next week senior Facebook officials will appear before the House of Commons fake news inquiry, whose chairman, Damian Collins will attempt to unpack what went wrong in the entanglements between Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, and whether these have facilitated the hacking of western democracy. And the House of Lords has opened an inquiry on internet regulation. Within months, the debate has shifted from "you can't regulate the internet" to how, and by whom, internet platforms should be regulated.

Continue reading...