Mark Zuckerberg has the best of both worlds; he operates what amounts to a vast international public space for private profit with minimal governmental regulation. He makes money off of material provided by his consumers, while taking no legal responsibility for it. He also uses his resources to devour any would-be competitors.
Given the size and reach of Facebook, the way it polarizes and tribalizes popular opinion, and the immense political influence it gives to Zuckerberg personally, this situation is unsustainable; Facebook ultimately will collapse, be broken up, or be regulated as a public utility. For now, however, Zuckerberg is fighting a mostly successful rear guard action to maintain the status quo by zigging and zagging between the demands of his employees, the left, and the right and promising solutions that never materialize.
Do you despise Facebook for the damage it is doing to our political system? Do you think something needs to be done, but despair of any effective regulation from Washington? The good news is that the remedy is in the hands of its consumers. If they express their objections by quitting, the problem will disappear regardless of what happens, or doesn’t happen, in Washington and Brussels.
It’s up to us. Do you want to spend the rest of your life measuring your personal value by the number of likes you get? Do you want to limit the damage done by foreign actors in our elections? Do you want to put an end to the easy dissemination of extremist ideas, both right and left? You know what to do.