A special opinion section on the impact of technology monopolies.
Facebook is where you check the latest happenings with your family, liking or loving (with the Facebook emojis, of course) photos of the newest addition to the family, a sibling’s promotion or a friend’s ironic take on the COVID-19 lockdown. Or you can show sympathy for an acquaintance’s lost loved one, a cousin’s unsuccessful team or a co-worker’s bad haircut.
It’s also in the news by way of reports from Congress, revelations from U.S. intelligence services and warnings from advocacy groups.
National security officials tell us the platform is among the ways that Russian operatives manipulated public opinion during the 2016 election and continue to do so right now. The House Judiciary Committee recently released the results of a 15-month investigation into the anticompetitive practices of digital platforms, including Facebook.
In June, the Omidyar Network released a report, “Roadmap for an Antitrust Case Against Facebook,” which prompted this Seattle Times special section.
In this series of seven columns, Seattle Times journalists and antitrust advocates discuss the muscle and menace of Facebook’s market power and explore possible solutions. Publisher Frank Blethen’s column discusses what you can do to help this effort.
Read more, here.
