Don’t leave Facebook to state politicians

Maxwell: The social network needs regulation, but not from Florida legislators.

The Facebook executives gathered on my computer screen wanted us to know they take privacy and free speech seriously and that Facebook was envisioned as a force for good — a way to bring people together to share experiences.

It sounded swell. But I knew the reason they wanted to talk with the Orlando Sentinel’s editorial board this past week wasn’t to talk about old high school friends sharing pictures of family pets and freshly baked rhubarb pie.

They wanted to make the case that Facebook shouldn’t be subjected to federal antitrust laws. I’m not sure I agree.

They also argued that consumer regulations should happen at the federal level, rather than state by state. With that, I think I do agree.

And they said some of Florida’s attempts to crackdown on social media companies simply aren’t constitutional. With that, I absolutely agree.

See, I’m prone to think some sort of regulations are needed for a mammoth company with massive influence — especially one so few users truly understand, especially when it comes to how their own information is being used.

But I also know the last people who should push for regulations are the political hacks who run this state.

While sober-minded defenders of consumer rights are interested in transparency, Florida legislators are more obsessed with getting Donald Trump back on Twitter and making sure their posts are never taken down — even if they contain lies, pornography or defamation.

We need to robust debate about social media in this country. But it should be held by America’s thought-leaders, not Florida’s knuckle-draggers.

I also think that we, as consumers, must do a better job of regulating ourselves. Government has a role in all this. But we should solve some of our own problems.

First, though, let’s start with the antitrust case. The basic argument is that the company is the 21st century version of AT&T, controlling too much of the market. Specifically, the suit accuses Facebook of buying up competitors, namely Instagram and WhatsApp, to eliminate competition.

This is an argument that consumer

advocates and progressive warriors like Elizabeth Warren have espoused for years. But it gained popularity among conservatives after Trump alleged conservative censorship. Forty-six states, including Florida, have joined this federal fight.

When we asked Facebook execs if they could seriously claim they had competition, one mentioned LinkedIn … a pretty laughable comparison. And it’s tough to buy arguments that Facebook wasn’t trying to neutralize competitors when the feds can cite an email from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that talks of “neutralizing a competitor.”

The best argument Facebook has is that the FTC already approved its acquisitions; that the company is now being told: You can’t do this thing we previously said you could.

So the feds are looking at breaking the company up — and also talking about pushing for better regulations. I like the proposals to boost transparency about what these companies do with your data. California voters passed a law along those lines that even Facebook now says it supports. That makes sense at a national level.

Florida, however, is just acting liking its normal clown-car self.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and GOP legislative leaders are talking about privacy protections, but seem more obsessed with making sure they aren’t ever kicked off for spreading lies or conspiracies.

Their main social media bill would ban social media companies from ever removing any politician’s post, no matter how vile or false. One GOP legislator, Brevard County’s Randy Fine, admitted the bill would help “Nazis and child molesters and pedophiles” … right before he voted for it.

This proposal is clearly unconstitutional. Government can’t tell a private company that it has to spread lies or filth. The Legislature’s own analysts warned as much. But these guys seem happy to traipse all over the U.S. Constitution in pursuit of a little pandering.

In another bill where legislators mixed their fury with Facebook with their fury over China, they want to ban every city and county in Florida from buying ads on

Facebook, purchasing iPhones or buying any product made in China or sold on Amazon. Police departments couldn’t buy iPhones. Florida ports couldn’t buy cranes.

These are not serious people proposing serious solutions.

As I told the Facebook execs: I think there is room for improvement and regulation in their industry. I just don’t think the people who run this state are capable of doing so in any sober, thoughtful way.

But you know what? We must also do a better job as consumers, reading the “terms of service” and accepting personal responsibility. After all, if we’re being inundated with misinformation, it’s often because we crave it.

See, most social media sites are set up to do one thing: Keep you on their site. They do so by giving you more of what you want. If you click on a cat picture or TV bloopers video, you are going to see more cat pictures and blooper videos.

Maybe that seems harmless enough. But that also means that if your buddy posts a QAnon conspiracy video or bogus “PROOF THE ELECTION WAS RIGGED” video, you’re going to get a lot more of that, too.

So here’s an idea: Stop doing that. Stop clicking on unverified crap. “Like” your aunt’s latest tip for opening stuck pickle jars. Don’t click the video that says: “PROOF ALL CONSERVATIVES (or LIBERALS) ARE RACIST LIARS.”

This is how once-normal people turn into nonsensical zealots. It’s why your Uncle Bobby went from talking about his love of fly fishing to insisting that you too should stock up on canned yams and powdered milk to prepare for the apocalypse.

We have to police ourselves.

I agree there’s a role for government regulation, as with many industries.

It’s just as also clear that Florida politicians aren’t up to the task. They are the courtroom jesters in a room full of legal scholars. Florida Republicans have plenty of whipping boys. Let them fume about plastic straws and public schools. And let the regulating take place at the federal level, where it belongs.