Feeble Facebook Oversight And Misuse of Abuse

Facebook is a monopoly. It controls information and its dissemination. In its short history, it has allowed hate, bigotry, disinformation and violence to spread.

In response to the feeble effort by government to regulate this monopoly, Facebook now arbitrarily blocks content under the misuse of the term abusive. This blog is blocked from Facebook. It happened when several critical blogs were written about plastic pollution that offended some of the organizations that claim to be against plastic pollution but that are benefiting from this crisis.

Facebook said that the content was blocked because some readers found it abusive. Facebook provided no explanation or legitimate avenue to contest this ruling.

No single man, Mark Zuckerberg, no single corporation, should have the power that Facebook has.

Facebook is starting an oversight committee.

This is a miserable excuse to keep the government from doing what is right. Facebook and other social media corporations should have been treated like publishing companies from the beginning, in which they are liable and responsible for the content they display. Since there is an unwillingness to make this happen, then there are other ways to reign in the power of these monopolies.

Social media corporations should be treated like utility corporations.

Facebook and other social media conglomerates should have a special tax levied. The money should  finance an independent organization that will regulate these corporations.

The independent organization, not the social media giants, will have final say as to what is legitimate screening out of hate, bigotry and violent incitement, and what is the unjustifiable screening out of content under the misuse of the word abuse.

The independent organization will also be responsible for ensuring social media monopolies are no longer the platform for hate, bigotry and violent incitement.

Facebook and the other social media monopolies must not be allowed to self regulate. They have proven themselves incapable of the task. The laughable Facebook oversight committee is the latest Facebook effort to keep the government off of their backs and to avoid real accountability.