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> an organization that is more powerful than the majority of the world's countries. Zuckerberg controls the platform that is the primary means of communication

> an organization that is more powerful than the majority of the world's countries. Zuckerberg controls the platform that is the primary means of communication for hundreds of millions of people, and in terms of power he's almost on the level of G7 leaders, just not accountable to anyone. Let's add a header to Facebook's homepage insulting some country's leader, and see how fast they get beaten into removing it by a court. The guy heads a communication company. This is nothing close to the power of a national government. A lone US senator might have less influence, but the president of any country has more authority than MZ, except maybe over Facebook, depending on how protective that country's law is.

michaelt 5y ago
> the president of any country has more authority than MZ, except maybe over Facebook Well, it depends how you measure. Joe Biden has the power to start wars, to pardon people for US crimes, to have anyone disappeared and tortured indefinitely - but he doesn't have the power to create a database listing all American citizens, let alone the citizens of foreign countries.
- quakeguy 5y ago
  I‘d assume he doesn’t need to create those DBs, Facebook shares them with all agencies.
- TchoBeer 5y ago
  Does he not have that power, or does he not have the ability? Imo I think he has both.
  - thrashh 5y ago
    It’s soft power vs. hard power. Everyone has an amount of measurable soft power and a measurable amount of hard power in different spheres. Soft power is how much everyone wants to agree with you, while hard power is how much everyone has to agree to you. Think of it as respect vs. on paper. To lead effectively, you need both. It’s rare that leaders have both. Biden does not have the soft power to do such a thing. Soft power vs hard power also is a part of every relationship, even with your grandma or friend.
- joconde 5y ago
  > he doesn't have the power to create a database listing all American citizens, let alone the citizens of foreign countries It's my understanding that the NSA did just that under Bush and Obama though. I might have only one side of the story, but in all countries where some part of the state surveillance apparatus was exposed, the law seems to be carefully crafted to look like it forbids mass surveillance while actually allowing the executive to implement it.
ACS_Solver 5y ago
Legal authority != power. I'm from a small European country with no notable natural resources nor other economic influence. Legally, the government has quite a lot of authority, but its power, measured by how it can specifically influence events, pales in comparison to the power of certain larger countries that can actually affect more. Facebook is the primary source of news for many, many people and can greatly influence their view by choosing to bury, or prominently display, stories promoting a particular stance. It's likely that Facebook could flip the outcome of a close election in a heavily FB-using country if it wanted to. Facebook controls several of the most popular services people use to directly message one another, and it could choose not to deliver messages containing certain words or links. Facebook can (through the FB Pixel) build a highly accurate history of web browsing for most online users, something major governments can also do through NSA, GCHQ or Spetssvyaz, but smaller governments don't have that capability. Facebook can't launch nukes or assassinate anyone anywhere with a drone strike, but if you look past the several national leaders who truly stand out in terms of power, I'd say you would find Facebook in the next rank.

michaelt 5y ago

> the president of any country has more authority than MZ, except maybe over Facebook Well, it depends how you measure. Joe Biden has the power to start wars, to pardon people for US crimes, to have anyone disappeared and tortured indefinitely - but he doesn't have the power to create a database listing all American citizens, let alone the citizens of foreign countries.

quakeguy 5y ago
I‘d assume he doesn’t need to create those DBs, Facebook shares them with all agencies.
TchoBeer 5y ago
Does he not have that power, or does he not have the ability? Imo I think he has both.
- thrashh 5y ago
  It’s soft power vs. hard power. Everyone has an amount of measurable soft power and a measurable amount of hard power in different spheres. Soft power is how much everyone wants to agree with you, while hard power is how much everyone has to agree to you. Think of it as respect vs. on paper. To lead effectively, you need both. It’s rare that leaders have both. Biden does not have the soft power to do such a thing. Soft power vs hard power also is a part of every relationship, even with your grandma or friend.
joconde 5y ago
> he doesn't have the power to create a database listing all American citizens, let alone the citizens of foreign countries It's my understanding that the NSA did just that under Bush and Obama though. I might have only one side of the story, but in all countries where some part of the state surveillance apparatus was exposed, the law seems to be carefully crafted to look like it forbids mass surveillance while actually allowing the executive to implement it.

ACS_Solver 5y ago

Legal authority != power. I'm from a small European country with no notable natural resources nor other economic influence. Legally, the government has quite a lot of authority, but its power, measured by how it can specifically influence events, pales in comparison to the power of certain larger countries that can actually affect more. Facebook is the primary source of news for many, many people and can greatly influence their view by choosing to bury, or prominently display, stories promoting a particular stance. It's likely that Facebook could flip the outcome of a close election in a heavily FB-using country if it wanted to. Facebook controls several of the most popular services people use to directly message one another, and it could choose not to deliver messages containing certain words or links. Facebook can (through the FB Pixel) build a highly accurate history of web browsing for most online users, something major governments can also do through NSA, GCHQ or Spetssvyaz, but smaller governments don't have that capability. Facebook can't launch nukes or assassinate anyone anywhere with a drone strike, but if you look past the several national leaders who truly stand out in terms of power, I'd say you would find Facebook in the next rank.