Facebook is a creature of the FTC's mistakes. It can also take it down.

Hi all,

Sorry for the long delay with publications. I have a lot of material in the works. Lot more to share soon.

I wanted to share my latest article published in Common Dreams. In the article, I argue that the FTC had multiple attempts to restrain Facebook - all were inept and inadequate. Fortunately, Congress gave the FTC broad powers to enact policies and rules that can make the marketplace fairer for users. In my article, I explain three distinct policies the FTC can enact to take down Facebook and fundamentally change our relationship with internet platforms.

Here is the first paragraph. The full article can be read here.

Facebook is facing a political and regulatory siege on every conceivable front. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 46 states are challenging the company's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp—with divestiture being the sought-after remedy. The company's global head of safety testified to Congress in September to explain the company's recent efforts to attract more children to its digital properties. Merely a week later, whistleblower Frances Haugen proved to be a far more compelling witness and revealed the true extent of Facebook's knowledge of the harmful effects its products have on children and its fervent desire to collect data and extend its active user base to this "valuable but untapped audience." All these events also take place against a backdrop of the most significant congressional antitrust investigation in decades, five proposed antitrust bills in the House of Representatives seeking to deconcentrate the technology sector, and other repugnant acts the company has committed over the past decade. News scandals detailing Facebook's actions appear as an almost daily occurrence.