“This ad was taken down because it goes against Facebook's advertising policies.”
That’s what users saw instead of four Facebook ads recently purchased by Sen. Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign. Apparently the tech giant has a policy of disallowing ads that are critical of Facebook, especially it’s ability to censor and shape political discussion.
Take a moment to think about what just happened here. Facebook actually had the nerve to CENSOR a sitting US senator who is a serious contender to be the next leader of the free world. If they are cheeky enough to treat Sen. Warren in this way, just imagine how they treat those who are far less powerful? We are witnessing the clash of titans.
Warren recently composed an essay, “Here’s how we can break up Big Tech” to advocate for changes to promote competition and restore the balance of power in our democracy.
Twenty-five years ago, Facebook, Google, and Amazon didn’t exist. Now they are among the most valuable and well-known companies in the world. It’s a great story — but also one that highlights why the government must break up monopolies and promote competitive markets.
Warren goes on to discuss a certain lawsuit that enabled a much-younger Facebook to have a chance to compete with the tech giant of it’s time, Microsoft. The federal government sued Microsoft for violating anti-monopoly laws. Think about it. If not for that suit, Facebook might not exist today or had a chance to become the big gorilla in the room.
Today’s big tech companies have too much power — too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy. They’ve bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else. And in the process, they have hurt small businesses and stifled innovation
I want a government that makes sure everybody — even the biggest and most powerful companies in America — plays by the rules. And I want to make sure that the next generation of great American tech companies can flourish. To do that, we need to stop this generation of big tech companies from throwing around their political power to shape the rules in their favor and throwing around their economic power to snuff out or buy up every potential competitor.
h/t to MTmofo, who also reported on this story: Facebook gives Elizabeth Warren a reason to want to break them up. As mentioned there, Facebook eventually restored the ads, but only after the news outlet Politico reported on the story. In a functioning democracy, a robust fourth estate must exist to provide important checks and balances. We all know this, don’t we? Billionaire Jeff Bezos now owns the Washington Post. Imagine if billionaire Mark Zuckerberg had owned Politico? Would they have run a story critical of Facebook?
As we approach the 2020 elections, there are many important issues facing our country which need to be addressed, not simply placed on the back burner. When I consider presidential candidates, I want to know where they stand on these and other important issues. Two such issues:
“Today’s big tech companies have too much power — too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy.” If we do not take steps to reign in that power, the owners of Facebook, Google, and Amazon will become the defacto kings of the country. Kudos to Sen. Warren for speaking this truth to power. When mainstream media is owned by billionaires and large corporations, the journalists who work for the MSM have an inherent conflict of interest. Who do these journalists “work for”? The public at large, or the company who signs their paycheck? 6 Corporations Control 90% Of The Media In America: GE, News Corp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS. My Republican father blames much of our country’s problems on journalists, for not “doing their jobs”. I disagree. MSM journalists are employees who must “earn their pay” by writing stories that are pleasing to billionaires and large corporations. MSM journalists work for their bosses, and “informing the public” is no longer a metric by which they are judged. In order to fix our country’s problems, “we the people” must understand that most of us only know what the owners of 6 corporations want us to know. I submit to you that steps must also be taken to reign in that power too, that media consolidation and democracy are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Facebook’s attempt to censor Warren only failed because of Politico, which is not controlled by one of the “big six”: GE, News Corp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, or CBS. Alternative media can be our friend, not our foe.