Platforms

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

Democrats and Republicans unite around Biden’s tech picks

Jonathan Kanter, who has represented Big Tech rivals like Yelp and News Corp, skated through his nomination hearing for leader of the Justice Department's antitrust division without incident as both Democrats and Republicans lauded his tougher stance on regulating digital behemoths. It’s no surprise Democrats are backing President Biden's pick, a favorite among progressives and anti-monopoly advocates.

The Facebook Files and the Future of Social Media

We might be tempted to remember this as Mark and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. A series of damaging articles in the Wall Street Journal, a whistleblower testifying before Congress, and a massive outage of the platform. But Facebook's problems date back much farther than this week. The ramifications could last long into the future—and impact much more than the social media giant.

Rep Eshoo Calls for Subpoena of Facebook Documents

Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA), senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, called on the Committee to subpoena documents from Facebook related to recent whistleblower complaints and testimony. “Frances Haugen courageously exposed what we've long suspected: Facebook has known the harm caused by their platform and has done nothing about it," stated Eshoo. "The Energy and Commerce Committee must subpoena all documents from Facebook related to Ms.

Facebook Renews Its Ambitions to Connect the World

Facing heightened scrutiny for its social media policies and relentless quest for growth, Facebook is now turning its attention to getting more people high-speed internet access in hard-to-reach places. The move comes with some irony, as it comes on the heels of Facebook’s own massive outage, which temporarily took down all of the apps in its empire.

Tech adversary Kanter tells senators he will pursue ‘vigorous’ antitrust enforcement in nomination hearing

Jonathan Kanter told lawmakers he would bring “vigorous” enforcement to the helm of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, as they weigh his nomination to serve as one of the federal government’s top competition cops. In the October 5 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Kanter laid out bits of his plan for lawmakers, focusing on ensuring robust competition for businesses across the country.

Section 230: How it shields Facebook and why Congress wants changes

Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, sat before a Senate subcommittee for more than three hours and described how the social media giant has prioritized its profits over public good. In her testimony, Haugen called on Congress to regulate Facebook and require more transparency from the company on its practices.

Like Facebook, AT&T once dominated communications. The difference? It was regulated.

Facebook’s October 4 outages across its platforms and the company’s handling of it raise a far-reaching question: Should we simply rest content with a complete shutdown of service across four platforms, which underpin much of the planet’s economic and cultural interaction and one of which, WhatsApp, has become an essential and free substitute for phone calling and many other communications?

Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Protect Consumers Making Online Purchases

Reps Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Chair and Ranking Member of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced legislation to combat the online sale of stolen, counterfeit, and dangerous consumer products.

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: