US: Facebook prefers more regulation over breakup

According to a report from Reuters, Facebook dismissed calls for a break-up of the world’s biggest social network and other big internet companies on Monday, June 24, stating this would not tackle issues such as privacy, attempts to influence elections or harmful content.

“Just because it is difficult to regulate the internet doesn’t mean policy makers should jump to the alternative of wishing these companies away,” Nick Clegg, Facebook’s head of global affairs, said in a speech on Monday in Berlin.

Facebook, which owns one-time rivals Instagram and WhatsApp and has almost 2.4 billion monthly users, is firmly in the cross hairs of regulators and faces calls from some government officials for penalties or to be forcibly broken up.

“The internet does need competition and it does need regulation … we want to work with governments and policymakers to design the sort of smart regulation that fosters competition, encourages innovation and protects consumers,” Clegg said.

Last week, seven US Senate Democrats asked the Trump administration to disclose details of possible Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department antitrust investigations into Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet, and Apple.