{"id":11741,"date":"2018-03-30T01:35:17","date_gmt":"2018-03-30T01:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=11741"},"modified":"2018-03-31T01:37:58","modified_gmt":"2018-03-31T01:37:58","slug":"why-not-nationalize-facebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/why-not-nationalize-facebook\/","title":{"rendered":"Why not nationalize Facebook?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blayne Haggart<\/a>, Brock University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Facebook\/Cambridge Analytica scandal<\/a> is fast emerging as a watershed for our increasingly digitized society. For the first time, how to regulate personal data has become a mainstream public issue, so it\u2019s important that we understand fully all the options available to us.<\/p>\n

In deciding what to do, the negative reactions<\/a>
\nof some tech pundits<\/a> to the calls for individuals to #deletefacebook are instructive. <\/p>\n

Somewhat counter-intuitively, they argue that it\u2019s irresponsible and ultimately ineffective for people to #deletefacebook. On its own, this argument is overstated. The loss of even a small number of influential Facebook users (relatively wealthy, North Americans) is a signal to Facebook and governments about dissatisfaction with the status quo. That\u2019s not a bad thing. <\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n
\n Read more:
\n Why it’s so hard to #DeleteFacebook: Constant psychological boosts keep you hooked<\/a>
\n <\/strong>
\n <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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However, they\u2019re also correct that a bunch of us deleting Facebook is an inadequate response to a systemic problem, so it\u2019s worth following their logic to see where it takes us.<\/p>\n

It turns out where it takes us is a pretty interesting place.<\/p>\n

Seeing Facebook for what it is<\/h2>\n

As Slate\u2019s April Glaser puts it<\/a>, abandoning Facebook is a luxury because \u201cfor lots of people, leaving the service would be a self-harming act.\u201d <\/p>\n

For many people, Facebook has become a personal, professional and economic necessity: \u201cYour business could have trouble reaching customers; your family might not gather on another social network; no one posts any events anywhere else.\u201d For many users in poorer countries with bad internet connectivity, \u201cFacebook is, in a sense, the whole internet,\u201d Glaser writes.<\/p>\n

These analysts call for, at a minimum, strong regulation of a problematic monopoly, but it\u2019s not hard to push their argument even farther. <\/p>\n

A chronically problematic organization<\/a> whose demise would throw society into chaos is clearly not a normal business. Facebook, in short, has become a critical part of our infrastructure, and we should treat it as such.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s as if we\u2019ve awoken to the realization that one person controls the world\u2019s public squares. More to the point, the rules governing our public squares, including especially the collection and abuse of our personal data, are set by this one company. <\/p>\n

While Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claims<\/a> he\u2019d like to \u201cfind a way to get our policies set in a way that reflects the values of the community so I am not the one making those decisions,\u201d the truth is Facebook has been making these decisions all along. <\/p>\n

It would be impossible not to. Somebody has to make these rules; the only question is who or what has the legitimacy and ability to reflect the views of a community.<\/p>\n

A role for the state<\/h2>\n

Luckily, we have an institution with just those characteristics: The democratic state. <\/p>\n

Social media platforms are natural monopolies. Facebook\u2019s antics over the past decade have demonstrated the bad things that can happen when platforms run amok. <\/p>\n

Given their central role in society, it\u2019s irresponsible to give any one company or person the responsibility of effectively setting rules governing data and speech for our entire society. Social media has become a key part of our critical communications infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"
\n Whistleblower Christopher Wylie, who alleges that the Brexit campaign cheated in the referendum by using Facebook data in 2016, speaks to the media on March 26, 2018. (AP Photo\/Alastair Grant)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In most countries outside the United States, allowing private, for-profit control of critical infrastructure like water and roads is highly controversial. <\/p>\n

Public ownership is seen as delivering fairer, more equitable results in sectors where social stability is more important than a monopolist\u2019s pursuit of profit. <\/p>\n

If Facebook and social media are so central to so many people that #deletefacebook is anathema, it\u2019s clear that social media platforms need to be treated like public roads, not private malls. This means we have to consider seriously whether Facebook should be placed under public ownership.<\/p>\n

Government control not exactly popular<\/h2>\n

Nationalize Facebook? It\u2019s a hard idea to take seriously: Government as a positive force has been out of favour since the 1980s.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s worth remembering that in the last century, governments around the world responded to the arrival of new communication technologies by creating arm\u2019s-length state broadcasters like the CBC \u2014 and the free-speech skies didn\u2019t fall.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not like private enterprise is currently covering itself in glory.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the global angle to consider. Because Facebook and social media are global concerns, we might also consider whether it\u2019s appropriate to leave the effective regulation of Facebook to the United States and the European Union<\/a> when we all have so much at stake.<\/p>\n

An international data-governance treaty, recognizing a country\u2019s right to treat data flows and social media platforms as more than economic concerns, should be a matter of urgent debate. These issues are too important to leave to trade agreements like the TPP (the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

American antipathy to nationalization of course means that the U.S. is unlikely to consider seriously Facebook\u2019s nationalization. That said, we all need to take seriously the danger of continuing to treat personal data as just another good to trade, and Facebook as just another company. <\/p>\n

\"TheOur societal well-being is too important to leave this problem to the whims of the market\u2019s invisible hand.<\/p>\n

Blayne Haggart<\/a>, Associate Professor of Political Science, Brock University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This article was originally published on The Conversation<\/a>. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blayne Haggart, Brock University The Facebook\/Cambridge Analytica scandal is fast emerging as a watershed for our increasingly digitized society. For the first time, how to regulate personal data has become a mainstream public issue, so it\u2019s important that we understand fully all the options available to us. In deciding what to do, the negative reactions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":11742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[277],"tags":[4220,4257,483,2024,2750,702],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11741"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11741"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11743,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11741\/revisions\/11743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}