It's not hard to understand why Mark Zuckerberg loves the empire-consolidating Augustus Caesar.
The Randy Spears Archives3,300 word note Mark Zuckerberg published Thursday about Facebook's approach to election interference contained some surprisingly frank insight into why Facebook has made some of the business decisions that it has. For example, Zuckerberg shared that he considered banning political ads all together (but decided against it). And that he was only opening up the platform to certain researchers because Facebook is now wary of misuse; thanks, Aleksandr Kogan!
SEE ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg will publish a series of notes wrestling with Facebook’s biggest issuesBut one subtler piece of information appeared in Zuckerberg's section about fake accounts. The billionaire founder stated that owning multiple social media businesses — including Instagram and WhatsApp — made it easier to shut down fake accounts on all platforms. In other words, he said that we'd better not break up Facebook, or it could harm the integrity of our democracy.
Here's the full quote from the letter:
One advantage Facebook has is that we have a principle that you must use your real identity. This means we have a clear notion of what's an authentic account. This is harder with services like Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, YouTube, iMessage, or any other service where you don't need to provide your real identity. So if the content shared doesn't violate any policy, which is often the case, and you have no clear notion of what constitutes a fake account, that makes enforcement significantly harder. Fortunately, our systems are shared, so when we find bad actors on Facebook, we can also remove accounts linked to them on Instagram and WhatsApp as well. And where we can share information with other companies, we can also help them remove fake accounts too.
Facebook owns WhatsApp and Instagram, yes, but also companies like Oculus and CrowdTangle, and it has absorbed many more. In recent months, grumblings have grown louder about the might that Facebook has amassed through mergers and acquisitions. And there is momentum behind the idea that the government should break up Facebook as a monopoly.
In April, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said that Facebook had better make changes, or risk getting broken up. In May, a coalition of labor unions and progressive organizations came together to form the Freedom from Facebook Coalition, whose primary demand is to check Facebook's power by separating its various social networks from the mothership. A host of editorials have made the case for (and against) breaking up Facebook. A New York Attorney General candidate has promised to look into whether Facebook is violating anti-trust laws. And Zuckerberg even faced questions about whether Facebook was a monopoly in his appearance before Congress and the European Parliament.
To be clear, breaking up Facebook would be very, very bad for Facebook. Instagram was recently valued at $100 million. And while Facebook's growth, especially among youth, is in decline, Instagram is still one of the favored platforms of The Youth. And Facebook is beginning to seriously monetize WhatsApp as it grows in popularity, and has started taking the place of Facebook as the primary way people get their news.
So, sure. Zuckerberg is talking about national and democratic security, here. But with ill will and questions still abounding about how powerful Facebook should be, really, any pros Zuckerberg can throw into the ring for keeping Facebook a unified platform are definitely conspicuous.
We see you, Zuck. The FTC does too.
Topics Facebook Instagram WhatsApp Politics
How to Settle Down with Dystopia
Professor Bhaer in Film: Watching “Little Women”
The Sound Effects of the Eighteenth Century, Back in Action
Kurt Klaggsburn’s Evocative Photos of Rio in the 1940s
The best day to book your flight, according to Google
Lydia Davis Will Receive Our 2016 Hadada Award
The Night Men with Their Rude Carts, and Other News by Dan Piepenbring
What Havoc Did “Under the Tuscan Sun” Wreak on the Culture?
NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for May 18: Tips to solve Connections #237
Favorite Recipes of Famous Women
Get a Smart AcousticPlus acoustic electric guitar for $199.99
When Houdini Hired Lovecraft to Write for Him
David Szalay Wins Plimpton Prize; Chris Bachelder Wins Southern Prize
My Life Polishing Silver
The EPA axed its climate change websites, but NASA's are still intact
Rereading “The Pat Conroy Cookbook”
Adventures at the Ninety
Read an Interview with Paul Beatty, NBCC Fiction Winner
'Severance' Season 2, episode 7, explained: What is happening to Gemma at Lumon?
No Stranger to Excess: Terry Southern on The Paris Review Offices
Royal family introduces social media rules following online abuse of Meghan and Kate10 hilarious celebrity statue failsBirthdate Co. just dropped a new tarot candleThe 'Thanks, I hate it' subreddit is a great home for a timeless memeWordle today: Here's the answer, hints for September 29Wordle today: Here's the answer, hints for September 28People think this video of Rami Malek promoting a hotel is real weird'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for September 29Who is Adar in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'?Twitter has posted its first edited tweet10 hilarious celebrity statue failsPrince William and Kate Middleton are the king and queen of draught beerWatch the powerful moment Cohen stared directly into the camera and slammed TrumpTwitter’s new video viewer is totally not like TikTokHow to vote for 'Dancing with the Stars' on Disney+The 'grandpa' of ASMR has created a heartwarming community on YouTube'Hocus Pocus 2' review: Cheeky, nostalgic, and practically magicIf you still use a Microsoft Band, you might be eligible for a refundWordle today: Here's the answer, hints for October 1'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for September 29 NYT's The Mini crossword answers for January 29 Best home security deal: Get the eufy Security Game 6 by Rachel B. Glaser My Curtains, My Radiator by Mitchell Johnson Trump gives second life to Keystone XL, Dakota Access oil pipelines iPad Air, iPad Pro: The rumored release date window for the ‘biggest revamp ever’ What is a homewrecker kink? TikTok accuses Ariana Grande of having one At William Faulkner’s House by Benjamin Nugent Going Roth Mode by Sean Thor Conroe 6 scientists are living like they're on Mars for the next 8 months SpaceX's breathtaking bullseye rocket landing in gifs Elon Musk's Neuralink has implanted a brain chip in a human for the first time Are 'love languages' the key to healthy relationships? Scientists say no. Inertia by Kate Zambreno Rivers Solomon, Elisa Gonzalez, and Elaine Feeney Recommend by The Paris Review Are You Thunder or Lightning? by Sophie Haigney A Letter from Henry Miller by Henry Miller Taylor Swift fans celebrate that Travis Kelce and the Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl Diary, 1994–1999 by Dina Nayeri Get the M2 MacBook Air at its lowest price at Best Buy
3.1795s , 8228.6640625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Randy Spears Archives】,Feast Information Network