[thisgoodlife]

I find it scary that those big tech companies are trying their best to put everything under their control. I understand that they are private companies. But does that mean they can do whatever they want and get away with it?

[Simulacra]

Depends on which argument you agree with. "It's a private company it can do whatever it wants" makes it seem like yes, they can. However Facebook is answerable to two distinct groups: The people who use the service, and the stock market. If people stopped using Facebook then it's possible that would push ad revenue down, which would then push the stock price down, which might then incite the investors to demand Facebook make changes to bring people back...so the ad revenue will go back up, which will push the stock price back up, and on and on. On the other hand, Facebook is a lot like Microsoft back in the 90s. It wasn't the only computer company. It wasn't the only operating system. But the sheer size and market influence allowed it to act unchecked.

[pbourke]

> However Facebook is answerable to two distinct groups: The people who use the service, and the stock market.

Three, if you include regulators.

[djrogers]

What regulators do you assume give one good crap about Facebook?

[pbourke]

Have you missed Zuckerberg’s appearances before Congressional hearings?