A coup, a Q, and a catch-22
This week: A QAnon Congresswoman gets deplatformed, with limited GOP participation. An antitrust superstar is in the mix for an FTC appointment, but her downfall may be… her deep subject-matter expertise? And Facebook gets ensnared in a(nother) coup, as they attempt to atone for past sins in Myanmar (hopefully they have Burmese speakers this time).
CONGRESS DEPLATFORMS QANON
In a major win for cancel culture this week, Congress sidebarred briefly from COVID relief negotiations to remove QAnon’s Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) from her freshly announced committee appointments. Only 11 House Republicans joined every Democrat in backing the move, as the GOP continues to self-immolate to avoid the wrath of MAGA-world. And just to pre-but Greene’s likely hypothesis: no, this dumpster fire was not started by Jewish space lasers.
New York Times: House Exiles Marjorie Taylor Greene From Panels, as Republicans Rally Around Her
While we’re glad to see #MargieQ de-committee'd, it feels a little bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Perhaps her half-hearted disavowal of QAnon – on the heels of Biden’s inauguration – will snap a few Q adherents back to reality, but just hoping millions of conspiracists will suddenly unradicalize themselves is generally bad policy. Our disinformation crisis will continue to deepen until we debug the platforms, policies and practices that paved the road from online extremist to elected member of Congress.
Profiles in courage...
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: “School shootings are absolutely real… I also want to tell you 9/11 absolutely happened... I do not believe that it’s fake.”
Washington Post: Despite denouncing QAnon months ago, Kevin McCarthy now says, ‘I don’t even know what it is’
MUCH ADO ABOUT CATCH-22
Last week, a coalition of business groups representing more than 60,000 (yes, you read that correctly) organizations sent President Biden a letter calling on him to appoint anti-monopolists to key regulatory roles across alphabet agencies.
The Hill: Independent business groups push Biden against FTC, DOJ appointees with ties to Big Tech
Enter stageleft:Columbia Law professor Lina Khan, top choice of many progressives’ for a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appointment. Khan – who recently served as counsel for the House antitrust subcommittee’s Big Tech investigation – shot into the limelight a couple of years ago with a viral legal paper (actually, tho) outlining the ultimate antitrust case against Amazon.
But no good deed goes unpunished… Now, some are worried that Khan’s flagship work could serve as grounds for disqualification or recusal from ruling in Amazon-related matters, which would leave Democrats without the 3-2 FTC majority needed to pursue such a case – or at least that’s an argument Jeff Bezos might try to advance in his newfound free time.
BURMESE JUNTA TURNS ON FACEBOOK; TURNS FACEBOOK OFF
This week, after overthrowing the government in Myanmar, the Burmese junta blocked access to Facebook in an effort to control the flow of information. There’s little comparison between this military takeover and the recent siege of the U.S. Capitol, and Facebook’s role in each – but they do seem to get mixed up in more coups than your average company.
To be clear, Facebook is not the enemy in this particular chapter of Myanmar’s unrest. It was blocked because it was being used as an organizing tool by protesters. But you also can’t ignore Facebook’s recent history in the nation; in the last crisis, the junta was weaponizing the platform to horrific ends, not shutting it down.
Facebook’s negligence as American insurrectionists spewed disinformation in the lead-up to January 6th pales in comparison to their negligence in Myanmar, where a 2018 UN report found the company played a "determining role" in spreading hate speech that fueled a literal genocide. As countless warnings of ethnic violence poured in, Facebook’s response was effectively, sorry, but we don’t speak Burmese.
CNET: Facebook temporarily blocked in Myanmar after military coup
Buzzfeed: After Fueling A Genocide, Facebook Is Taking A Stand Against A Myanmar Coup
Quote of the week...
“It is often asserted that social media is the chief cause of rising polarization; that people are unwittingly trapped in online echo chambers where they’re exposed only to people and content that reinforce their ideological worldview. But the academic evidence simply doesn’t bear this out,” Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president for global affairs, wrote last weekend in a blog post. “The caricature that users are passive victims of algorithmic choices made for them is simply false," he said.
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE
Axios: Poll shows wide distrust of tech, media
Generation Lab: Youth Dems and GOP love tech and want it to stop
Vox: Most Americans want to break up Big Tech
POTPOURRI
CNN: Jeff Bezos is stepping down as Amazon CEO
Wall Street Journal: Facebook Knew Calls for Violence Plagued ‘Groups,’ Now Plans Overhaul
Washington Post: Klobuchar’s new antitrust bill may hit Big Tech where it is
The Verge: Democrats take first stab at reforming Section 230 after Capitol riots
Protocol: She exposed tech’s impact on people of color. Now, she’s on Biden’s team.
Politico: ‘A kiss of death’: Top GOP tech critics are personae non gratae after election challenge
WINK News: Experts say Gov. DeSantis has no jurisdiction over Big Tech