Mark Zuckerberg’s call for internet rules only goes part way

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s call for new rules for the Internet is a start. The four proposals he makes open the door to a meaningful discussion about the effects of internet capitalism. Now what is needed is a similar look at the issues underlying the market dislocations caused by a handful of internet companies. As significant as Zuckerberg’s proposals are, it is important to recognize they deal with the effects of internet commerce more than their causes: the business model of internet companies. Economists define that business model as a “two-sided market.” On one side, the companies collect the assets they sell on the other side. Each of those sides requires a set of behavioral rules, yet today the companies make those rules. On the collection side, consumers should have more control over their data. In his embrace of GDPR by name and in its entirety,  Zuckerberg recognizes the importance of protecting consumer sovereignty over their own data. It is the sell side of the market—where the money comes from—that Zuckerberg’s proposals ignore. The internet business model relies on companies like Facebook hoarding personal information in order to collect monopoly-based prices. It is this data bottleneck that is at the root of the digital companies’ power to dominate and control markets.