How aligning with Trump's new administration lets Meta and X pivot from futile cooperation with the EU and other jurisdictions to confrontation and coercion
Big Tech's embrace of Trump is a sign of its weakness when confronted w determined state action - Brazil/EU. — timely reminder that the state is capable of disciplining capital, and has constantly tried to do so since 2008 for transformative purposes — www.ft.com/content/917c... @jwsidders : This brilliant piece by @davidallengreen.bsky.social about the weakness of Musk and Zuckerberg in the face of determined regulatory action poses a big question, without asking it: will the EU, the UK, Brazil etc bend the knee and allow Trump's America to make the global social media rules? Henry Mance / @henrymance : An excellent essay in the FT Weekend by @davidallengreen.bsky.social. — One thing I'd add: yes, content moderation is expensive. But Meta's profit margin was nearly 40% last year; net profits were $14bn. Why shouldn't governments ask it to pay to reduce the harm it causes? www.ft.com/content/917c... Ian Fraser / @ianfraser : The recent board changes at Meta suggest the social media giant is gearing up for war with foreign governments. If it plays its cards right, and if the Trump administration bullies other states on its behalf, this could be a battle it could win. — Depressing read from @davidallengreen.bsky.social Mastodon: D A T Green / @davidallengreen@mastodon.green : New, by me at FT — The coming battle between social media and the state — Behind the alignment of X and Meta with Trump is a cold business logic — and a position of weakness rather than strength — https://www.ft.com/... [image] X: Shane Conway / @shaneliamconway : Meta's free speech announcement has sparked a lot of emotional debate. This excellent @FT piece offers a more measured analysis: 'This isn't a company acting irrationally but responding rationally to a political shift to defeat a regulatory challenge.' https://www.ft.com/... Diego Castañeda / @diegocastaneda : A very interesting take on tech companies wanting to use US power to bend other countries' regulations in their favor.A somewhat new type of techno-cronyism and a valuable synergy for the US as social media can help further their goals in shaping discourse.https://www.ft.com/ ... Gideon Rachman / @gideonrachman : Super analysis by David Allen Green on the coming battle between America's social media platforms and the EU - and I hope the UK. Meta's sycophancy to Trump is because they want the US to go after the EU on their behalf https://www.ft.com/... via @ft LinkedIn: Stuart Lambert : For those with an FT subscription (this essay is paywalled) this is by a long, long way the best analysis I've read of Mark Zuckerberg's, and therefore Meta's, shameless volte face. … Lindsay Pentelow : “Moderation and fact-checking are expensive. If the social media platforms were obliged, under pain of legal sanction … Forums: r/ukpolitics : The coming battle between social media and the state. Behind the alignment of X and Meta with Trump is a cold business logic — and a position of weakness rather than strength r/technology : The coming battle between social media and the state See also Mediagazer