Some people are beginning to think of Google and Twitter as public utilities like water, sewage and electricity due to their wide use. They state that "the social networks are a critical layer of infrastructure for a wide variety of applications and content" For this reason, they are now entertaining the idea of having federal regulations on those companies. They believe those 2 companies have monopolies on information.
The authors argue that everything the government has ever regulated stopped its innovation and consistent development. That is the main fear with trying to make these services public utilities. The cavity and development that goes on with in social media will essentially diminish and become stagnant. The other argument is that social networking is ever changing and if we make it a public utility, if that platform fails or is replaced it could collapse the regulatory system that we built on it. Not to mention, if it is regulated it will not have all of the bells and whistles it has now. What would be the incentive? It would no longer be about profit, but rather just giving the basic necessities to the community.
The author suggests it should be left as is. I agree with the author. I believe the government is just so desperate for revenue that they are trying to justify and way they try to obtain more money without rocking the boat too much.
http://blogs.forbes.com/adamthierer/2011/07/24/the-danger-of-making-facebook-linkedin-google-and-twitter-public-utilities/
No comments:
Post a Comment