I was surprised to see an editorial on the TV news recently in which someone was decrying the fact that Facebook seems to be putting profits over people. But I can’t understand why anyone thinks Facebook would do anything else.
That is, after all, what its customers expect. Facebook’s customers don’t pay for ads on Facebook so that Facebook will be nice to people. Customers pay for ads so that people will watch their ads.
That is Facebook’s entire business model. In fact, as a publicly traded company, it is legally obligated to serve the interests of its shareholders, and therefore the needs of its customers.
I am not saying that this is a good thing. It might be a very bad thing. But it is, after all, the entire economic basis of Facebook.
If there is a consensus that all of this should be regulated, then sure, let’s regulate it. But why act surprised when it turns out that a dog barks or an elephant has a trunk?