U.S. presidential contender Kamala Harris favors look at breaking up Facebook

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

POLITICS MAY 12, 2019 / 2:20 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

U.S. presidential contender Kamala Harris favors look at breaking up Facebook

Susan Cornwell
3 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said on Sunday that U.S. officials should consider breaking up Facebook Inc, the world’s largest social media company, saying it is a utility that has gone unregulated.

Harris, a U.S. senator and one of more than 20 Democrats seeking the party’s nomination for the 2020 presidential election, said Facebook has prioritized growth over consumers’ interests, especially on privacy.

“I think we have to seriously take a look at that (breaking up Facebook), yes,” Harris said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. She said very few people can get by in their communities, business or commerce without somehow using Facebook. “So we have to recognize it for what it is. It is essentially a utility that has gone unregulated.”

Facebook has been under scrutiny from regulators around the world over data sharing practices as well as hate speech and misinformation on its networks.

Some other U.S. lawmakers, including Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, have pushed for action to break up big tech companies as well as federal privacy regulation.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-harris/u-s-presidential-contender-kamala-harris-favors-look-at-breaking-up-facebook-idUSKCN1SI0K5

[elleng]

1. I'd like to see their theory of the case.

I don't think Facebook is a 'utility' as usually defined.

'Public utilities (just "utilities" in British English) are typically defined as companies that supply what are considered basic (essential) services to homes and businesses, such as electricity, gas, waste disposal, water and sewer connections, where competition is very limited.'

[MineralMan]

2. Many people might agree with that, but it's not going to be

a big campaign issue, I think. As many people will react negatively to losing their Facebook connections as will want to disable Facebook. Voters across the entire political spectrum can be on either side on this issue, if it is an issue at all.

Really, I don't see it as a very strong issue to start with. It also has the possibility of backfiring with voters. I wouldn't take a position on it as an policy statement, really. It's likely to be a wash.

[crazytown]

3. Facebook co-founder: It's time to break up Facebook

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/09/tech/facebook-chris-hughes-break-up/index.html

Basically, it a proposal to spin off Instagram and whatsapp at a time when Facebook, contrary to earlier assurances, intends to merge the services, starting with messaging.

I’s hardly a big vote winner. I’m not sure why Kamala is going there. When Warren was talking about it, I suspect most people thoughts, that’s Liz being Liz.

[Dream Girl]

4. I just don't get it. How is Facebook a friggin utility?

No one needs it to live or even to communicate. I personally think Facebook is kind of dumb. I have an account that I look at once every few month. Just don’t see wat the big deal is.I don’t really care wat most of my “friends” went or vacation or wat they had for dinner or how cute their kids ar or the sunset they saw on their marvelous hike. It’s just plain boring and so much posturing. I just never got it. Wat am I missing?

[MineralMan]

5. I check it once a day. My family and old friends from high school days

are on there. I scroll down a few times and then leave. I also have a page for the business I'm involved with. I'm in charge of that page, so I post something there a couple of times a week. But, I write it offline and paste it in, so it takes just seconds. We have a page on Facebook because, well, you have to have a social media presence. We also have a Twitter presence, which I also operate. I post a couple of tweets a day, and our number of followers keeps going up. It generates more interest than the Facebook page so I pay more attention to that. But, still, I go there to post something and look at anything that has happened there, and that's it.

But, I'm unusual. A lot of people use social media almost constantly, so some sort of presence is necessary, really.

[JI7]

6. it would be better to propose new rules and regulations for things like Facebook

and just the more connected world we leave in.

how do deal with fake shit, hateful bigoted content etc.

[msongs]

7. pandering by harris. facebook is completely avoidable by choice. nt

[LongtimeAZDem]

8. YGBKM