If the legislator wants to regulate Facebook, he may have to indicate on the same page what he is trying to solve.
Is Facebook a monopoly? Does Mark Zuckerberg think it has a liberal tendency? Why am I suddenly seeing a chocolate advertisement on Facebook? How many friends do I have? Does Facebook monitor emails that I send via WhatsApp?
Intrigued by Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook? Watch The Social Network. Stream it from Netflix USA. Here’s how to get American Netflix.
These are just a few of the questions that senators asked during a Tuesday hearing. The latest evidence suggests that monitoring Congress will make Congress more difficult: Policymakers seem to be focusing on Facebook’s biggest problem, namely whether they fully understand Facebook’s behavior.
33-year-old Zuckerberg answered questions from 44 senators on Tuesday at a joint hearing in the Senate Committee on Justice, Economy, Science, and Transport. He apologized again for Facebook’s bad behavior and tried to clarify what the platform is doing, what it is doing and what is being corrected. He has repeatedly refused to disclose certain details or that his team will respond to the legislature and provide answers.
But the most striking thing is not Zuckerberg’s move. Executives, if any, try not to send news. Senatorial questions are more compelling, sometimes inconsistent, or confusing with the underlying issue. It’s like a simple question of how Facebook keeps its place in the free service. Zuckerberg’s advertising campaign confuses the senators.
The hearing should deal with data protection on social media and the use and misuse of data. Facebook’s business model is based on free advertising with this data, a fundamental concept.
Some questions … weird
Some skeptics from senators on both sides claim that they are not the most tech-savvy people, do not fully understand how Facebook works, or that they may never have used the platform. Or they contain some anecdotes about the use of social media.
Senators often lack expertise in the laws and regulations they are making, which is why they have dozens of employees and assistants. One of the reasons for holding a hearing is to learn more. However, the regulation of Facebook means solving complex problems, e.g. B. The responsibility of the company for the content of the platform. We hope that it understands the adequacy of all users and customers and how free company regulations that restrict the development of the Internet can be balanced. Questions from many legislators indicate that they are still struggling to understand how the platform works.
The senators seem to agree that they want to address issues related to Facebook. But what is it?
While legislators are struggling to understand the business model of Facebook and how it works, regulating other digital services would become more complicated.
