A Facebook co-founder in a New York Times editorial today declared the social networking giant has become a monopoly with too much unchecked power and said the federal government needs to break up the company
today declared the social networking giant has become a monopoly with too much unchecked power and said the federal government needs to break up the company.
The lengthy and pointed criticism from Chris Hughes, who left the company in 2007 and no longer owns stock, makes him the most high-profile Facebook veteran to call attention to the shortcomings of the company and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg."We are a nation with a tradition of reining in monopolies, no matter how well intentioned the leaders of these companies may be. Mark's power is unprecedented and un-American," Hughes writes. "It is time to break up Facebook.
Hughes proposes spinning off Facebook-owned Instagram and WhatsApp into separate companies, unwinding mergers he argues the Federal Trade Commission should never have allowed. Facebook should also be banned from making additional acquisitions for several years, he adds, writing that the company has often stifled competitors by buying them or copying their ideas.
"Facebook's dominance is not an accident of history," Hughes writes. "The company's strategy was to beat every competitor in plain view, and regulators and the government tacitly — and at times explicitly — approved." He also calls for Congress to establish a new federal agency charged with protecting consumers' privacy online and establishing guidelines for "acceptable speech" on social media. Zuckerberg's control over speech is "the most problematic aspect of Facebook's power," he writes.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Facebook co-founder says Zuckerberg ‘not accountable,’ calls for government break upChris Hughes, who started Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg, joins a growing chorus of privacy advocates and politicians who have called for antitrust action.
Read more »
Facebook co-founder calls for its break up, says Zuckerberg has 'unilateral control over speech'Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes wrote in a New York Times op-ed that regulators must check CEO Mark Zuckerberg's power.
Read more »
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes: It's time to break up FacebookChris Hughes helped Mark Zuckerberg transform Facebook from a dorm-room project into a real business. Now, he's calling for the company to be broken up.
Read more »
Flipkart co-founder explains why foreign companies often struggle to succeed in IndiaMany foreign companies find it tough to succeed in India, and one reason, according to Binny Bansal, the co-founder of Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart, is their inability to deal with India's unique environment.
Read more »
Drug company founder, executives convicted of bribe scheme that fueled U.S. opioid crisisThe founder of Insys Therapeutics Inc and four colleagues were found guilty on T...
Read more »
The founder of pharma company Insys was just found guilty of bribing doctors to prescribe opioidsThe trial revealed marketing tactics like using a stripper-turned-sales-rep to give a physician a lap dance.
Read more »
Founder, execs of drug company guilty in conspiracy that fed opioid crisisThe founder of Insys Therapeutics Inc on Thursday became the highest-ranking pha...
Read more »
Drug company founder convicted in opioid bribery schemeNEW: Wealthy drug company founder convicted Thursday of directing a scheme to bribe doctors across the US to prescribe a highly addictive fentanyl spray.
Read more »
Fyre Festival founder plans to self-publish a memoir called ‘Promythus: The God of Fyre’The man who founded the famously ill-fated Fyre Festival plans to tell his story in a self-published memoir. Billy McFarland, who is serving a six-year sentence in federal prison, is writing a book called 'Promythus: The God of Fyre.”
Read more »
Trump attacks social media companies after Facebook bansSTERLING, Virginia (AP) — President Donald Trump criticized social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was 'monitoring and watching, closely!!'
Read more »
Trump attacks social media companies after Facebook bansSTERLING, Virginia (AP) — President Donald Trump criticized social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was 'monitoring and watching,...
Read more »