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Facebook CEO speaks to select members of European Parliament

politico.eu

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Re: Facebook CEO speaks to select members of European Parliament

#21

Post by rhizome »

QueensGambit wrote: post #3

I have a controversial view, correct me if I am wrong. I think democracy has a major flaw, because, most people are selfish/unfair and most likely vote for populist leaders. But, it has been so far saved by media because of the elitist journalists who want the world to be a fair place and were able to convince people to reject populist leaders. With social media, these journalists are bypassed and the populist leader…

I think democracy has a major flaw, because, most people are selfish/unfair and most likely vote for populist leaders.

This is quite the hypothetical syllogism.

Re: Facebook CEO speaks to select members of European Parliament

#22

Post by hodgesrm »

QueensGambit wrote: post #3

I have a controversial view, correct me if I am wrong. I think democracy has a major flaw, because, most people are selfish/unfair and most likely vote for populist leaders. But, it has been so far saved by media because of the elitist journalists who want the world to be a fair place and were able to convince people to reject populist leaders. With social media, these journalists are bypassed and the populist leader…

The framers of the US Constitution were well aware of this problem, which is one reason why they introduced features like separation of powers. (I.e., to create power centers that would compete with each other.)

Re: Facebook CEO speaks to select members of European Parliament

#24

Post by GreeniFi »

zerostar07 wrote: post #18
GreeniFi wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What did I deduce from today’s hearing: 1. The weird question/answer format was probably a negotiated condition of Zuckerberg appearing. 2. This underlines the power of Zuckerberg: setting conditions for the EU Parliament is quite a show of force. 3. This condition was probably set because Zuckerberg is a very poor spokesperson. The end of the session was quite frankly bizarre when Zuckerberg refused to take question…

How can the EU break up foreign monopolies?

That’s a really good question. I guess one of the options would be to require social media companies to obtain a licence, subject to their non-monopolistic activities.

My guess is that there will be a FB sell-off today. Other countries will see the opportunity to raise a high tax rate on a natural monopoly, and FB returns will be tax-adjusted.

Re: Facebook CEO speaks to select members of European Parliament

#25

Post by bogomipz »

GreeniFi wrote: post #15
DavideNL wrote: post #4

The hearing was a big joke. Zuckerberg simply avoided answering difficult questions by talking about something else entirely...

What did I deduce from today’s hearing: 1. The weird question/answer format was probably a negotiated condition of Zuckerberg appearing. 2. This underlines the power of Zuckerberg: setting conditions for the EU Parliament is quite a show of force. 3. This condition was probably set because Zuckerberg is a very poor spokesperson. The end of the session was quite frankly bizarre when Zuckerberg refused to take question…

>"The US will be keen to protect homegrown global monopolies."

I don't believe the US will be "keen" to protect FB if that's in fact what you are stating here. There is just as much concern about FB in the US as there is in the EU, even if the political will to act might be blunted in the US by lobbyists and money.

I would argue that FB isn't a "US monopoly" per se but a global monopoly.

Re: Facebook CEO speaks to select members of European Parliament

#26

Post by mantas »

jedberg wrote: post #7
QueensGambit wrote: post #3

I have a controversial view, correct me if I am wrong. I think democracy has a major flaw, because, most people are selfish/unfair and most likely vote for populist leaders. But, it has been so far saved by media because of the elitist journalists who want the world to be a fair place and were able to convince people to reject populist leaders. With social media, these journalists are bypassed and the populist leader…

It all has to do with education. Educated people are naturally more skeptical of their media and what the sources are. Before social media, it was admitted a lot harder for unreliable sources to get an audience, so that skepticism was less critical. But I think it will come back. Education is the antidote to social media news. Deity willing, the next government will see that and push for better education.

At the same time education is encouraging people to not trust the mainstream. There's a lot of reasons for that, thanks to tabloids and seemingly credible papers going bananas once in a while. So educated people do their own research. Which sometimes goes wrong.

For example, a lot of conspiracy theorists are educated people. Their research just took an interesting turn at one point or another.

@bachbach's example of pro-Soviet intellectuals is a good one as well. There was a similar downtown on the other side of the wall too. Quite a few anti-soviet dissidents turned into conspiracy theorists later on. In both cases, people were happy to rebel and look for alternatives and their education did help them. But eventually their curiosity took them too far.

Re: Facebook CEO speaks to select members of European Parliament

#27

Post by mantas »

bproven wrote: post #13
jedberg wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It all has to do with education. Educated people are naturally more skeptical of their media and what the sources are. Before social media, it was admitted a lot harder for unreliable sources to get an audience, so that skepticism was less critical. But I think it will come back. Education is the antidote to social media news. Deity willing, the next government will see that and push for better education.

Exactly - also increasing focus on critical thinking skills.

Which may only make them question mainstream media. Hopefully it'd make social media more reliable.

Re: Facebook CEO speaks to select members of European Parliament

#29

Post by jonbarker »

pell wrote: post #20
QueensGambit wrote: post #3

I have a controversial view, correct me if I am wrong. I think democracy has a major flaw, because, most people are selfish/unfair and most likely vote for populist leaders. But, it has been so far saved by media because of the elitist journalists who want the world to be a fair place and were able to convince people to reject populist leaders. With social media, these journalists are bypassed and the populist leader…

Democracy's flaws have been studied for thousands of years. You can find a very detailed critique from Plato for example. All of his arguments are still true today. The problem is that there really isn't a better alternative when it comes to letting people self-govern on a big scale. Plato's solution was a government of the ones who had the complete truth, but he himself was doubtful whether such an administration wo…

And now the best proxy for 'the complete truth' seems to be the entrepreneur who built the largest AI enabled platform with the most engaged users. As long as that person is benevolent, we are all OK?

Re: Facebook CEO speaks to select members of European Parliament

#30

Post by stingraycharles »

Hasknewbie wrote: post #6

One more prestigious date to add to the 14-years long (and counting) "Zuckerberg Magic Apology Tour". Quite the show. (For reference: https://www.wired.com/story/why-zuckerberg-15-year-apology-t... )

I liked how Guy Verhofstadt called him out on that, that he has apologised 15 or 16 times in the past years. I’m annoyed that I cannot vote for the guy for EP elections because he lives in another country, one of the many weird things about EU politics, but this man deserves a medal.
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