De sociala nätjättarna håller just på att vittna inför den amerikanska kongressen. Här är en text från uppsnacket, som fångade mitt intresse:
»When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress on Wednesday, he will call on lawmakers to take explicit action to rewrite the law that protects a free and open internet. In doing so, he will be implicitly asking the federal government to impose huge new regulatory costs on social media sites like his own—costs that will ultimately protect Facebook from rising upstarts.«
Reason: Mark Zuckerberg to Congress: Please Regulate Us (Wink, Wink) »
Ur Zuckerbergs skriftliga inledningsanförande (PDF):
»I believe we need a more active role for governments and regulators, which is why in March last year I called for regulation on harmful content, privacy, elections, and data portability. We stand ready to work with Congress on what regulation could look like in these areas. By updating the rules for the internet, we can preserve what’s best about it—the freedom for people to express themselves and for entrepreneurs to build new things—while also protecting society from broader harms. I would encourage this Committee and other stakeholders to make sure that any changes do not have unintended consequences that stifle expression or impede innovation.«
Detta är korporativism i modern tappning – Big Data ber Big Government om kostsam speciallagstiftning som kommer att stoppa nya konkurrenter och uppstickare.
Och som Zuckerberg själv konstaterar, så riskerar sådan lagstiftning att få oväntade och oönskade konsekvenser för det fria ordet och för den tekniska utvecklingen.