"...The idea that the US gains economic advantage by telling other countries to be open and remaining closed is just false...." Well, we do gain economic advan

"...The idea that the US gains economic advantage by telling other countries to be open and remaining closed is just false...." Well, we do gain economic advantage when nations remain open, because the US is only open in theory. That said, this "only open in theory" thing affects us, the citizens of the US, just as much as it affects other nations. For instance, in THEORY if we in the US don't like the fact that Facebook and Twitter have the power to shape what we see and hear, we're free to form startups that offer competing social networks. As a pragmatic matter though, we really aren't. Such startups are almost guaranteed to fail in the US. On an international scale we can see this same effect in action by comparing the vibrancy of the Chinese internet startup market, against that of other, more open, nations. The vast majority of users in nations with more open markets use Facebook, Twitter, and other mostly US properties. Don't misunderstand me, the citizens of those nations can attempt to form internet startups if they wish, but the reality is that in the face of the giant, well funded, US competitors also operating in their nations, I, personally, wouldn't be sanguine about their prospects. The Chinese cleverly avoided that fate by effectively closing their market.