Facebook’s failure to curb the massive disinformation campaign that preceded Jair Bolsonaro’s election victory shows that it is unable to control the dangerous consequences of its own dominance.
Read more
Digital Platforms’ Targeting Tools Are Opaque and Potentially Dangerous
A lawsuit claims that Facebook inflated video metrics to lure advertisers. Facebook denies, but it’s worth noting that it would be much easier for Facebook to defraud advertisers than for any of its predecessors in traditional media.
Read more
Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (October 14-20)
Facebook’s WhatsApp finds itself at the center of Brazil’s political upheaval; the EU is pushing ahead with its planned tax on tech platforms; Trump’s replacement for NAFTA entrenches tech monopolies; and why does Uber love economists?
Read more
Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (October 1-7)
Brazil’s business community rallies around far-right authoritarian; Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh enters the Supreme Court; Amazon raises its minimum wage to $15 an hour; Germany expects to take antitrust action against Facebook this year; and the IRS’ pursuit of tax crimes reportedly faces collapse.
Read more
Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (September 22–29)
Facebook’s bad week included a new security breach, high-profile resignations and damaging exposés; tech giants are spending billions on physical infrastructure and lobbying for new federal privacy rules; and what is Google trying to achieve with its sponsorship of media organizations?
Read more
Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (September 7–16)
Is the government’s response to the 2008 financial crisis responsible for the rise of populism in the US and Europe?; the real Google censorship scandal is its re-entry into China; Europe’s new controversial copyright law could change the Internet; and can Facebook unbreak democracy?
Read more
Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (September 1–7)
Google skips Congressional hearing, potentially making a “strategic mistake of virtually incalculable proportions”; Jon Kyl’s “ethical baggage”; new research finds telecom companies are slowing Internet traffic to and from YouTube and Netflix; and where do economists stand on market concentration?
Read more
Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (August 25–September 1)
As Trump ramps up his attacks on Google, Sen. Orrin Hatch asks the FTC to revisit its investigation of the company; as Facebook finally takes action on Myanmar, US campaign strategists reportedly gear up to flood the social network with inflammatory ads; and why are doctors and hospital groups organizing to oppose single-payer health care in California?
Read more
Would Sen. Warner’s Ambitious Plan to Regulate Social Media Giants “Ruin” the Internet—Or Save it?
Sen. Mark Warner’s proposals to regulate social media platforms are by far the most ambitious to come from Congress. We gathered three experts to discuss their pros and cons.
Read more
Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (August 11–18)
Elizabeth Warren’s new bill seeks to radically alter US corporate governance; America’s top CEOs earned 312 times more than their average workers last year; regulators are after Facebook for discriminatory housing ads; Elon Musk faces no more than a slap on the wrist from the SEC, experts say; and what is “the biggest policy mistake of the last decade”?
Read more
“If You’re Running an Authoritarian Government, You Love Facebook”
In a wide-ranging interview with ProMarket, media scholar Siva Vaidhyanathan explains why Facebook has become “too big to manage” and why he believes the only solution to its bigness is a global political movement aimed at breaking it up.
Read more
Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (August 5–11)
Monsanto loses landmark Roundup case; the Sinclair-Tribune merger blows up; Facebook wants your financial data; the historical legacy of the 2008 financial crisis; and why is the banning of Alex Jones from big tech platforms also a cause for concern?
Read more