The Trillion-dollar Chameleon

Townhall ^ | Jan 18, 2018 | Victor Davis Hanson Victor Davis Hanson

[mairdie]

Twenty years ago, no one had heard of either Facebook or Google, neither of which existed yet. For that matter, no one knew much about social media or search engines in general.

Cellphones were still simply mobile, small and expensive telephones. There was no concept of a phone as a handheld computer.

Today, five companies -- Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Alphabet (Google's parent company) -- have a collective worth of more than $3 trillion. Yet such transnational companies remain mostly exempt from the sort of regulations and accountability faced by most other industries.

[mairdie]

This is one of the most important issues of our day. Whether liberals can control social media and internet news as they do the main stream media and education. And how to correct the problem before we lose completely here, too.

[adorno]

VDH mentioned a “problem”.

Did he mention a solution?

Regulations were mentioned, but in general passing.

What about specific solutions or specific regulations?

Would he suggest (God forbid), bringing back “net neutrality”?

[Fhios]

20 years ago it was all yahoo and aol. Two case studies on how to lose your technological edge. Yahoo through too much change and aol because of too little change.

[rrrod]

You’re correct....but what do we do?

[Fresh Wind]

There was no concept of a phone as a handheld computer.

The concept was around; the technology wasn't.

A book titled "Giant Brains (Or Machines That Think)" by Edmund C. Berkeley was published in 1949. It proposed the future concept of a handheld computer for data entry and retrieval, though he didn't see it as a function of a telephone.

[mairdie]

Turn it into a utility and regulate it. If you identify them searching on conservative terms, put them in jail or fine them so much that competitors can rise. Codify into law that social media in the utility class can exclude only a limited type of speech, such as terrorism support.

[mairdie]

This is a topic that reminds me of the never-trumpers who let the pure overwhelm the practical.

I couldn’t care less if regulation in this case is against conservative theory. In practical terms, if you allow the liberal bias to stop the expression of conservative speech, all the purism in the world won’t matter. First. Foremost. Above everything. Free conservative speech by any means necessary.