[Governance] 170 orgs send an open letter to UN SG to stop plans for a new High Level Multistakeholder Body

[bzs at theworld.com]

On March 21, 2021 at 20:45 governance at lists.igcaucus.org (Mueller, Milton L via Governance) wrote:
 > By the way, has anyone at JustNet noticed that Facebook is joining them in
 > their call for more internet regulation at the national level? Think about the
 > implications of that for a moment: https://about.fb.com/regulations/

Facebook has also taken out full page ads in The Economist recently
calling for more internet regulation, expressing the same ideas as
that link.

FB wants to increase the cost of entry into social media.

Similar to how historically large auto manufacturers, for example,
(after perhaps some early resistance) applauded automobile safety etc
regulation.

It made it very expensive to start an automobile manufacturing
company, paperwork costs etc. but only added a relatively modest cost
on existing big auto companies, and equally on all of them.

So conferred little if any competitive advantage or disadvantage among
existing (large) companies. It would put potentially existential
pressure on existing or new smaller companies or organizations.

Consider the cost of raising the bar to scan, categorize, and respond
to millions of messages per hour (at FB's size that's per minute)
imposing large fines etc for failure.

This is how oligopolies are enshrined via government regulatory power.

-- 
        -Barry Shein

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