I’ve a perspective to share based on the recent anti-trust hearings.
I believe the concept of social media has already been solved/perfected and just like any established infrastructure the next challenge for social media is ethics and issues that come with being a massive global platform (security, scams, bad actors/users, anti-competitive behaviour, among others).
Let’s talk about Facebook.
Facebook is a company.
If a new social media startup comes up and threatens Facebook’s core business, the social media giant is obviously gonna strike back and defend their fort.
They’re not gonna sit idle and let someone take away all the market share.
When the next social media trend emerges, guess what – Facebook would be in the best position to leverage its ecosystem and capitalize on that opportunity.
The company might simply copy or even acquire that startup. Most recent example is Instagram Reels (knockoff of TikTok).
Why would they not keep a tab on what’s working and improve their own platform.
Even Google failed at building a Facebook competitor. So for a small startup, it’s going to be an uphill battle and even a waste of time to replicate what Facebook has accomplished.
Because maybe, the concept of social media had been already solved.
I believe the next Mark Zuckerberg will solve an unsolved problem, not social media.
So what’s the solution for Big Tech’s “stranglehold on certain digital industries”?
They should be regulated.
“[Government] thinks some products and services are so indispensable that inviting competition would be a waste of everyone’s time and inconvenience to the consumer. Often, this is because of extremely high upfront costs and the efficiencies provided by scale.” – Morning Brew
Government’s response to industries providing basic utilities like electricity has typically been: “Okay, if it makes sense to have just one player give everyone electricity in a certain region, let’s have one player. But we’ll heavily regulate it so consumers aren’t gouged.”
Maybe social media has become a basic utility now.
Maybe it’s time to regulate Facebook now, just like any electric or train company.
All we need is government officials who actually understand this tech world.
Source: Morning Brew
Photo Credit: Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona
Prashant Bagga 