New litmus test for White House candidates: Break Facebook

Democratic presidential candidates are making every effort to respond to growing calls to dismantle high-tech companies such as Facebook, which is indicative of headwinds for Silicon Valley within a party that had once embraced the internet industry.

In the final sign of this new dynamic, Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) Reinforced her anti-technology rhetoric in an interview with CNN on Sunday. When asked if Facebook was to be dismantled, she replied, "We need to look into this seriously."

History continues below

"I think Facebook has seen massive growth and put its growth first and foremost in the best interests of its consumers, especially on the issue of privacy," she said.

These remarks come just days after Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook, wrote in a New York Times editorial that the social network was a "monopoly" and should be forced to separate from Instagram and WhatsApp, two great acquisitions in recent years.

This strong stance of a former high-ranking Facebook has fueled the debate over the debate in the Democratic Party since Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Another candidate of 2020, issued a radical proposal aimed at to dissolve companies like Facebook. , Amazon and Google, which, she said, "bulldozed the competition, used our private information for profit and tipped the balance of the game against everyone."

Senator Cory Booker (D-Mass.), A long-time ally in Silicon Valley, has himself become increasingly critical of the power of high-tech companies since he has announced his candidacy for the White House. But in an interview with ABC Sunday, he made it clear that he was not a fan of Warren's plan, calling it a reminder of something that could be said by the current oval office occupant.

"I do not think a president should be pointing fingers at companies and telling them to separate them without any procedures here," Booker said. "It's not me and my personal opinion on pursuing people. It sounds more like a Donald Trump affair: "I'm going to separate you guys."

Warren established the first major marker on technology and antitrust during the 2020 campaign in March, calling for Facebook, Google and Amazon to be designated as "platform utilities" and separated from their own competing services .

Since then, other Democrats in 2020 have taken a variety of positions on the need to separate giants from technology, ranging from strong support for this idea to more moderate calls for greater control of the industry.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Congratulated Hughes, the co-founder of Facebook, in a tweet Friday for "sounding the alarm about the dangers of uncontrolled corporate power," writes, "We are living in a time of monopolies that dominate every aspect of our lives – including our government. power".

But Sanders did not ask that the company be dissociated. His office did not respond to a request for comment last week on his particular position on this topic.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), another progressive legislator who comes to the White House, expressed support for Warren's proposal, promising to introduce a "similar bill" in the House. But most of the other hopes of 2020 have been reluctant to fully embrace the dissolution mantra, instead preferring to investigate possible anti-competitive behavior in the sector.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Min.) Said in March that she "would not come and do not seem to break this case," but she supported efforts to "overburden" antitrust enforcement agencies and to "change the norms". is considered anti-competitive behavior.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, currently the Democratic leader in several polls of 2020, has not yet publicly announced Warren's plan or the dissolution of companies like Facebook.

For years, Democratic leaders have recognized Silicon Valley's liberal-minded leaders as strong allies and donors, and celebrated the rapid growth and expansion of the sector.

But the relationship has worsened in the midst of a panoply of tech scandals about foreign electoral interference on social media, data privacy and online hate speech, with many Democrats openly demanding a new regulatory approach to the sector. .

Facebook has become a major concern in Washington, as lawmakers on both sides have called for the company to be held accountable for a string of damaging privacy breaches. The social network is currently negotiating a possible agreement with the Federal Trade Commission, which investigates the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.

On Sunday, Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs and communications, senior policy officer for Facebook, responded to calls from Hughes and other people seeking to dissolve the company.

"I do not think that dismantling companies is the way to deal with some of the complex issues that it rightly pointed out, the use of data, confidentiality, the attempt of people from elsewhere to try to interfere in our elections, "he told CNN. "[C]to put in pieces a great American success story is not likely to make these problems disappear. "

Clegg has been on the defensive in recent days, writing his own editorial in the New York Times this weekend, saying that breaking Facebook "will not fix what's wrong with social media."

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who co-founded the company with Hughes, recently introduced a new "privacy-focused" vision for the company, which includes a focus on encrypted communications. Skeptics, including Hughes, warn that the pivot could make it more difficult for regulators to transform WhatsApp and Instagram, which Facebook plans to further integrate with its iconic social network.

"Until recently, WhatsApp and Instagram were run as independent platforms within the parent company, which should facilitate the process," Hughes wrote. "But time is running out: Facebook is working quickly to integrate all three, which would complicate the task of the division for the F.T.C."