Our working definition of a digital platform (with a hat tip to Harold Feld of Public Knowledge) is an online service that operates as a two-sided or multi-sided market with at least one side that is “open” to the mass market
Platforms
Why the US needs public-private partnerships for digital infrastructure
The Senate’s proposed infrastructure bill includes billions of dollars for broadband, but financial investment alone won’t be sufficient to keep America on top.
Facebook Acquisition Review Shows EU’s New Antitrust Power
The European Commission aims to use its new authority to review Facebook’s proposed takeover of Kustomer, a startup specializing in customer-service platforms and chatbots.
The push for a "PBS of the internet"
A new policy paper from the German Marshall Fund p
Outdated Ethics Rules Stymie the FTC's Efforts to Keep Up with Big Tech
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s longstanding conflict-of-interest rules may unnecessarily impede its ability to attract, retain and deploy the technical expertise that it badly needs to keep up with Big Tech. To change this, the FTC needs to narrow
House Commerce Republicans Announce Big Tech Accountability Agenda
Republican Representatives on the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced a comprehensive package of discussion draft bills to hold Big Tech accountable by improving transparency and content moderation accountability, reforming Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, promoting competition, and preventing illegal and harmful activity on their platforms. The members also released a Big Tech Accountability Platform, guided by four principles:
Big fines can change Big Tech
Multimillion-euro fines can force Big Tech companies to change their behaviour despite their deep pockets, according to French Competition Authority President Isabelle de Silva. She does not believe sanctions could be played down as merely “the cost of doing business,” breaking away from the consensus in the European Union, where competition officials have struggled for years to contain the market power of Big Tech despite levying billions of euros of penalties. Since June 2021, her office has hit Google with €720 million in fines in two separate cases.
Big Tech is both for and against regulations
Tech companies' calls for or against “regulating technology” do not mean much in and of themselves. The irony is that for years, lobbyists have had a field day with the opposite framing, that “regulation stifles innovation.” After the idea caught on, it effectively paralyzed democratic lawmakers who did not want to be seen as old-fashioned or getting in the way of exciting technologies and digital opportunities. Looking at what companies do in practice, beyond touting support for “regulation,” is revealing.
Sen Klobuchar introduces bill to strip social media of health misinformation protections
Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced a bill that would strip online platforms such as Facebook and Twitter of liability protections if their technology spreads misinformation about coronavirus vaccines or other public-health emergencies. Sen Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) joins Klobuchar as a co-sponsor.
Zuckerberg on why Facebook is becoming ‘a metaverse company’
Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would strive to build a maximalist, interconnected set of experiences straight out of sci-fi — a world known as the metaverse. The company’s divisions focused on products for communities, creators, commerce, and virtual reality would increasingly work to realize this vision. The metaverse is having a moment; coined in Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson’s 1992 sci-fi novel, the term refers to a convergence of physical, augmented, and virtual reality in a shared online space.
Sens Wicker, Capito, Young Introduce Bill to Explore Collecting USF Contributions from Big Tech
Sens Roger Wicker (R-MS), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced the Funding Affordable Internet with Reliable (FAIR) Contributions Act. The legislation would direct the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a study into the feasibility of collecting Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions from internet edge providers such as YouTube, Netflix, and Google. The FAIR Contributions Act would: