Facebook Faces A Breakup
December 11, 2020
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“It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace.” — Aristotle
“We’re all water from different rivers, that’s why it’s so easy to meet; we’re all water in this vast, vast ocean, someday we’ll evaporate together.” – Yoko Ono
Facebook Faces A Breakup
(Jakub Porzycki via Getty Images)
On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and attorneys general of 48 states filed lawsuits against Facebook. “For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the states’ investigation. “Today, we are taking action to stand up for the millions of consumers and many small businesses that have been harmed by Facebook’s illegal behavior.”
The FTC’s complaint alleges that “Facebook has maintained its monopoly position by buying up companies that present competitive threats and by imposing restrictive policies that unjustifiably hinder actual or potential rivals that Facebook does not or cannot acquire.” The agency asks the Washington DC federal court to order the company’s breakup by forcing the sell-off of assets such as Instagram and WhatsApp as independent businesses.
Facebook and other major US technology companies have flourished over the past decade, gobbling up competitive threats with next-to-no government oversight. But regulators and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have grown increasingly concerned about the influence that behemoth tech companies wield over how people live, work, shop, and receive information about the most vital topics of the day, like presidential elections and the COVID-19 pandemic.
A former New York antitrust lawyer and author of the new book, Monopolies Suck, said industry onlookers have particularly criticized Facebook’s aggressive tactics. “Facebook has ensured that any company that is innovating is just destroyed. Copy, killed or acquired — that’s the modus operandi of Facebook. This [antitrust lawsuit] is a big deal,” she said. “Everybody is going to benefit when we have markets that are competitive and functioning.”
Facebook’s general counsel dismissed the legal challenges as “revisionist history.” In a statement, Jennifer Newstead said the company’s takeover of Instagram and WhatsApp had been approved by federal regulators at the time of the acquisitions. “Now, many years later, with seemingly no regard for settled law or the consequences to innovation and investment, the agency is saying it got it wrong and wants a do-over.”
In October, the Department of Justice and 11 states’ attorneys generals sued Google, alleging anticompetitive and exclusionary practices in the search and search advertising markets. A court-ordered breakup of a big US company for antitrust reasons is rare, the last one being AT&T in 1984.
Walmart Triples Down On India
- India is among Walmart’s top-sourcing markets for products such as jewelry and homeware, with annual exports of about $3 billion. The Bentonville, Arkansas-headquartered company acquired 77 percent of the Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart for roughly $16 billion in 2018, marking the biggest deal for India’s e-commerce sector where it competes with its US rival Amazon.com Inc’s local unit.
- On Thursday, Walmart announced it will triple its exports of India-made goods to $10 billion each year by 2027. “By significantly accelerating our annual India exports in the coming years, we are supporting the Make in India initiative and helping more local businesses reach international customers, while creating jobs and prosperity at home in India,” Walmart’s CEO said in a statement.
- Its commitment to deeper sourcing from India will include helping develop hundreds of new suppliers across categories such as food, pharmaceuticals, consumables, and apparel. (Reuters)
Brexit Is Coming, Deal Or No Deal
- The deadline for the UK to strike a post-Brexit deal with the EU is December 31. But after weeks of intensive talks, negotiators have failed to overcome obstacles in key areas, including competition rules and fishing rights. Speaking for the first time since a crunch meeting in Brussels, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “now is the time” for companies and people to prepare for the “strong possibility” of a no deal outcome.
- Johnson said the EU wants to keep the UK “locked” into its legal system or face punishments, like taxes on imports. He added that despite the UK having left the bloc earlier this year, accepting the EU’s proposals would mean Britain would be forced to remain a “twin” of the 27-country organization. Johnson said it was vital that the country prepare for the “Australian-style option” of not having a free trade deal with the EU. Australia is currently without a free trade deal with the EU, and largely does business with the bloc under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. (BBC)
- EU releases “no-deal” contingency plan as Brexit cliff looms (Axios)
Additional World News
- Senate Tees Up Final Showdown With Trump Over UAE Arms Sales (Foreign Policy)
- The new normal-ization: Trump announces Israel-Morocco to normalize relations (AP)
- South Korea to criminalize sending leaflets into North Korea, bowing to regime (WaPo, $)
- China, Japan, and South Korea aren’t financing as many coal plants abroad anymore (Vox). Raking over the coals.
- It’s Australia’s First Big Blaze of the Fire Season. How Bad Will the Summer Get? (NYT, $)
- American activism reaches Africa: Black Lives Matter: Activists demand #EndSARS protesters’ release (BBC)
- Argentina abortion vote: Fernandez bill could legalize over Pope Francis opposition (WaPo, $)
- There’s Rich, And Then There’s Jeff Bezos Rich: Meet The World’s Centibillionaires (NPR)
- Bear in mind… Svalbard’s polar bears are sending messages to scientists (CNN)
- Rich countries leaving rest of the world behind on Covid vaccines, warns Gates Foundation (Guardian)
COVID-19
- U.S. Hits Highest 1-Day Toll From Coronavirus With 3,054 Deaths (NPR)
- ‘Lockdown Lite’ Spares Economies but Doesn’t End Pandemic (WSJ, $)
- How Biden aims to Covid-proof his administration (Politico)
- Dogs can be trained to detect Covid-19 by sniffing human sweat, study suggests (CNN)
Texas Fields Trump’s Final Hail Mary
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a frivolous, embarrassing lawsuit on Tuesday against four key states in an attempt to block presidential electors from finalizing Joe Biden’s election victory. The next day President Trump and 17 red states he carried piled on; they filed motions requesting permission to intervene in the Texas suit to throw out millions of votes cast in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Election law expert Richard Hasen had some choice words to say about Paxton’s lawsuit. “This is a press release masquerading as a lawsuit. … What utter garbage. Dangerous garbage, but garbage.”
- Trump is being represented “in his personal capacity as candidate for re-election,” by new attorney John Eastman, a conservative law professor known for recently pushing a racist conspiracy theory suggesting Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was disqualified because her parents were immigrants. Paxton was indicted on security fraud charges in 2015, and is currently under FBI investigation on charges of bribery and abuse of office. Many speculate Paxton is demonstrating his loyalty to Trump in the hope of getting a presidential pardon. (NPR)
Son Of A Gun! Hunter Biden Is Under Investigation
- President-elect Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, said Wednesday the US attorney’s office in Delaware had opened an investigation into his “tax affairs.” President Trump and his allies targeted Hunter early on in an attempt to tarnish a political rival with unproven corruption charges involving his son. Trump’s early pursuit of the unsubstantiated allegations resulted in his impeachment, after he pressured the newly-elected president of Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden’s work in the country while his father was vice-president.
- A Senate investigation into the allegations led by Trump’s allies found no evidence of improper influence or wrongdoing by the former vice-president, concluding only that Hunter Biden had leveraged his family name to secure lucrative business deals. In a statement released Wednesday by the president-elect’s transition office, Hunter Biden said “I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisers.” The Delaware US attorney’s office is led by a Trump appointee. (Guardian)
Additional USA News
- Biden mulls options in case Republicans try to block cabinet picks (Guardian)
- Why Trump Carried Out His Pentagon Purge (New Yorker, $)
- ‘Under the rug:’ Sexual misconduct shakes FBI’s senior ranks (AP). What’s pent up in the Pentagon?
- Supreme Court says Muslims placed on no-fly list can sue FBI agents for damages (CNBC)
- “Our culture is not up for sale”: The stakes of Trump’s push to drill in the Arctic refuge (Vox)
- A mutiny within the movement: Black Lives Matter power grab sets off internal revolt (Politico)
- Casey Goodson Jr.’s Family Calls For Murder Charges Against Sheriff’s Deputy (NPR)
- I spy, with my eyes in the sky… Baltimore Police Lied About Almost Every Aspect of Its Spy Plane Program (Vice)
- Shoplifting has increased during pandemic, experts say (WaPo, $)
- ‘Heroes of the Future’: NASA Picks 18 Astronauts for Moon Mission Training (NYT, $). If you shoot for the moon, you might land on this list.
Now That’s A Low Blow
- Maybe some traditions should just be laid to rest — like the 300-year-old very odd and excruciating-looking strand of martial arts known as “iron crotch kung fu.” Its most famous technique involves a steel-plate capped log, 6.5 feet in length and weighing 88 pounds, that swings through the air and smashes into a man’s crotch. 65-year-old Wang Liutai, head of the Juntun Martial Arts Academy in central China, says “When you practice iron crotch kung fu, as long as you push yourself, you will feel great.”
- Wang, who’s been practicing the technique for 50 years and has two children, insists that with the correct methods and sufficient practice, it does not hurt and has no effect on fertility. Mastery of the iron crotch is obtained by taking hits to the body’s weakest points while using qigong breathing techniques to accustom oneself. It’s just one element of the branch of Tongbeiquan kung fu practiced in Wang’s village for three centuries. The style encompasses scores of attack techniques as well as resisting pressure, pain, or hits to other sensitive areas. “We also have iron throat, iron head, iron chest, and iron back,” said fellow master 53-year-old Tang Xiaocheng.
- The number of people who can practice the iron crotch technique has dropped from 80 to just five, causing concern that the tradition might die out. In 2016, Wang and his fellow masters started actively promoting their iron crotch style of kung fu. It’s helped them gain several new students in cities across the country who learn by using social media or custom-made videos posted online. Still, it just doesn’t seem like an activity that should be tried at home — or at all. (Reuters)
Weekend Reads
- This is what NASA wants to do when it gets to the moon (MIT Tech Review)
- Taking a hard stance on software: The ‘app store’ before there was an App Store wants to liberate your iPhone … again (WaPo, $)
- ‘The worst trade ever’?: Seven investors who sold Apple stock on IPO day—and missed out on billions (Fast Company)
- Hello, World! It Is ‘I,’ the Internet (Wired)
- The Hype New Streetwear Brand to Buy and Flip Is… Lidl (Vice)
- The city of Angels, from all different angles: Behind Nipsey Hussle’s Death: CalGang, Parole and Recidivism (NPR)
- What can different cultures teach about boredom? (BBC)
- How a New Hampshire libertarian utopia was foiled by bears (Vox)
- Smell ya later: What Did the Past Smell Like? (Nautilus)
- The Bigger the Publishers, the Blander the Books (Atlantic, $)