Facebook and antitrust
As all too many keep telling us, Facebook really is just the monopolist of our online time. Something must be done. That something being more political power over Facebook of course - the cry through the ages of those who would exercise political power.
If it all reminds you of the rise of another app more than a decade ago, that’s for good reason. With its 732 million monthly active users, TikTok is the app of the moment, and likely the app of the future. It’s the new Facebook.
So now we have that new Facebook. Which is pretty good evidence that the old one doesn’t have any form of monopoly. Or, to be more precise, that it’s an entirely contestable monopoly and therefore one that we don’t have to worry about.
Which leaves us just with those political calls for more political power over Facebook. There’s no antitrust justification - as there never is in contestable markets - so therefore it’s just that usual power grab from those who desire more political power.
All of which tells us what to do about those calls for more regulation. The Anglo Saxon Wave seems a useful reaction and for those who wish to remain strictly polite a simple rejection would be sufficient.
Competitive markets don’t require regulation because the competition within the market is the regulation required.