[governance] Monetising socialisation

Nick Ashton-Hart nashton at consensus.pro
Fri Feb 20 01:56:16 EST 2015


FWIW, I don't think this is getting anyone anywhere. If you don't like FB, don't use it - I'll be happy to extend Ello invites to those who want them; just shout.

;)

We've got really serious problems in the way the Internet's being abused today - just look at the SIM card disclosures of last night. Is discussing regulation of a single social media company honestly the main issue to be worried about right now?

On 20 Feb 2015, at 02:29, David Conrad <drc at virtualized.org> wrote:

> Parminder,
> 
>> if you really think that no matter what be the level of market power involved
> 
> Strawman.
> 
>> (and facebook's extreme market power is so obvious)
> 
> 
> The article you posted suggested some folks do not believe it too extreme.
> 
>> or how deeply public interest oriented a particular service is
> 
> Strawman.
> 
>> (again, there can be little doubt in this regard in case of a basic social networking platform),
> 
> There is plenty of doubt.
> 
> An alternative perspective: Facebook is a web-based application operated by a commercial company based in the US.  It is one of a myriad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites) of similar applications, standing out only in their number of users and (as a result) a large amount of money (well, ok, and their propensity to frequently fold, spindle, and mutilate their privacy policies). 
> 
> They are not a monopoly (as the article you posted proves).  They do not provide critical infrastructure.  As both you and I demonstrate, it is possible to live quite comfortably without their service.
> 
> Back in the mid- to late-90s, I remember folks made similar "basic service"-type claims of AOL, arguing it needed to be regulated. You don't hear that so much anymore. If you're going to propose a global regulatory regime to impose your will on a commercial company based in the US offering a web-based application, it might be worthwhile first determining whether or not (as a proctologist will tell you) "this too shall pass."
> 
>> the paradigm of 'individual choice' and the market is enough for all situation - we just do not ever require specific policies or regulation.  
> 
> Strawman.
> 
>> BTW, would you in that case also oppose net neutrality regulation,
> 
> You'd first have to define what you mean by "net neutrality" before I could hazard a guess whether I'd support or oppose it.
> 
>> And what about regulating financial capital that so thoroughly ruined the world economy just a few years back? Can people just not stop using the telco or the bank they do not like rather than seek regulation? 
> 
> Red herring.
> 
>> It is in this regard that I made a tentative construction of the problematique of the dangers of Facebook arbitrarily monetising everyday processes of socialising, without any public interest oversight. If this does not outrage you, I will accept that viewpoint as well. 
> 
> 
> People voluntarily choose to allow Facebook to monetize their socialization. There is no requirement to use Facebook service. If their business practices outrage me, I choose not to use their service. Seems a much simpler approach than trying to devise a global regulatory regime to regulate the monetization of "everyday processes of socialization."
> 
> Regards,
> -drc
> 

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