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
Facebook Hearing: "Big Tech now faces that Big Tobacco jaw-dropping moment of truth"
The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security convened a hearing to hear from former Facebook employee Frances Haugen. Recent Wall Street Journal investigations have revealed troubling insights regarding how Instagram affects teenagers, how it handles children onto the platform, and other consumer protection matters related to Facebook. In prepared testimony, Haugen said:
Whistleblower's SEC Complaint: Facebook Knew Platforms was used to "Promote Human Trafficking and Domestic Servitude"
The complaints filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission against Facebook by former employee Frances Haugen include "original evidence showing that Facebook ...
How streaming entertainment makes rural broadband unsustainable
If the five companies using the most broadband bandwidth contribute more to the costs of providing it, they could help address the digital divide. Roslyn Layton, a vice president at Strand Consult, researched four rural broadband providers and found that 75 percent of downstream network traffic comes from five companies: Amazon Prime, Disney+/Hulu, Microsoft Xbox, Netflix and YouTube.
So the Senate Skewered Facebook. Now What?
After the Senate’s session with Facebook global head of safety Antigone Davis on September 30, close observers think bipartisan outrage may finally be strong enough for Congress to crack down on Facebook and its peers. “Facebook has given lawmakers and regulators an invaluable political opening to begin restructuring how it can do business, in terms of research, advertising and data use,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Digital Democracy.
Lawmakers Reintroduce the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act
Sens Edward Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep Kathy Castor (D-FL) reintroduced the Kids Internet Design and Safety (KIDS) Act (S.2918) to stop online practices such as manipulative marketing, amplification of harmful content, and damaging design features, which threaten young people online.
South Korea broadband firm sues Netflix after traffic surge
South Korean Internet service provider SK Broadband (SK) has sued Netflix to pay for costs from increased network traffic and maintenance work because of a surge of viewers.
Decoding China’s World Internet Conference
The China World Internet Conference, also known as the Wuzhen Summit, is a state-run conference where bigwigs in China's tech industry used to gather, party and tout their grand ideas and growth strategies. The conference, in its eighth year, has reliably offered a look at Beijing's particular vision of global internet governance and digital sovereignty.
The metachallenges of the metaverse
Online issues such as personal privacy, marketplace competition, and misinformation only become greater challenges in the metaverse. Rather than being distracted by the shiny new bauble, policymakers need to focus on the underlying problems of the digital revolution, which won’t go away with new technological developments.