Dec 10 2020 22 mins
In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission began an antitrust investigation against Facebook. And now the federal government and nearly 50 U.S. states are suing Facebook in an antitrust lawsuit. They claim that the social media conglomerate squashes competition, making it a monopoly. Facebook, which could lose ownership of Instagram and WhatsApp, says that people choose to use the site because they place high value on it. Several laws - the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act - that were written over 100 years ago (long before social media was a glimmer in the world’s eye) will influence the court’s decision.
We talk about the contentious space Facebook occupies, possible implications of whatever the outcome is, and how this could impact other powerful tech-related companies that have also been accused of having problematic ethical issues.
Article: Facebook must be broken up, the US government says in a groundbreaking lawsuit
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/09/tech/facebook-antitrust-lawsuit-ftc-attorney-generals/index.html
*Audio mix is a bit off this week. Sorry!
Music Provided by:
Intro - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Tumbling_Dishes_Like_Old-Mans_Wishes/Green_Lights
Outro - https://audionautix.com/