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Why is a fine even an acceptable resolution? Previously the FTC had been running such that, if it could not prove an acquisition was bad it would approve it.

Why is a fine even an acceptable resolution? Previously the FTC had been running such that, if it could not prove an acquisition was bad it would approve it. In this case, back in 2012 Instagram was small, didn't charge money, and not considered a competitor to Facebook. Well, we sure as hell know now it was a bad idea. Harmed consumer privacy, removed other competitors, and expanded the network effect of then Facebook. And before anyone says "oh what about YouTube, X, TikTok, competitors" - Yes they should all be split off from their parent companies too.

paulddraper 2y ago
The FTC signed off on the acquisition. Now they have third party buyers remorse.
giancarlostoro 2y ago
My favorite was that the deal was where Facebook agreed not to import IG into FB. They have merged the two together so much so that if Facebook has a complete outage, so does IG. Not only that, but Facebook "magically" knows when I'm on IG and vice versa.
- alex1138 2y ago
  Also I think if you sign up for Instagram you get Threads lol Nice account you got there, would be a shame if you deleted Threads and also deletes your Insta
  - soco 2y ago
    But on my Android I got no Threads. True, IG tries their best to convince me to install it. Maybe I don't have it because my IG was created before times?
- transcriptase 2y ago
  Much like when a company is acquired and the execs of the acquisition assure everyone that nothing is going to change. Until it inevitably and drastically does because those execs no longer have any real power even if they weren’t explicitly lying.
  - tialaramex 2y ago
    Oh yeah, lots of "First Time?" meme opportunities during acquisition.
- granzymes 2y ago
  >deal was where Facebook agreed not to import IG into FB What deal was this?
  - captn3m0 2y ago
    This was for WhatsApp
- pdpi 2y ago
  > They have merged the two together so much so that if Facebook has a complete outage, so does IG. If AWS has a complete outage, so do many completely unrelated businesses. As a regulator, "running on the same infrastructure" would be the least of my worries and an acceptable carve-out for a "no integration" clause.
  - zelphirkalt 2y ago
    Running on separate infrastructure makes it a lot easier to confirm for an auditor, that data is not being merged or used in combination though.
- notyourwork 2y ago
  And now I’ve noticed threads permeate IG to cross-pollinate.
joey_spaztard 2y ago
Also, Facebook/Meta said they would not be able to link WhatsApp accounts to facebook accounts. After they were allowed to buy WhatsApp they unsurprisingly began using metadata for things like knowing who Facebook users are talking to. They paid some fines that they show no sign of caring about.
dtquad 2y ago
This anti-big-tech hysteria in the US is dangerous. Applying early 20th antitrust thinking to modern tech companies is short sighted and doesn't show the whole picture. These American big tech companies that people like Steve Bannon and Lina Khan want to split up have been responsible for not only the impressive US GDP and wealth recovery and growth since the 2008 financial crisis but also for much of the rest of the world's wealth recovery and growth since the 2008 crisis. Danish pension funds have 25% allocation on US stocks but ~70% of the total returns in 2022-2024 came from US stocks with big tech companies leading the charge.
- sc68cal 2y ago
  "monopolies are good because line goes up"
  - dtquad 2y ago
    >monopolies Where exactly? They lose market share to every new AI wrapper app and most young people are on the Chinese video app. >are good because line goes up The "line goes up" sarcasm really doesn't work when we are actually suddenly in a "line goes down" situation and it clearly sucks.
    - officeplant 2y ago
      The line going down is just a return to reality hopefully. So many vastly over valued tech stocks and tech adjacent stocks.
    - const_cast 2y ago
      > The "line goes up" sarcasm really doesn't work No it still works, because "but make a lot of money!" is _never_ an acceptable argument for anything. It may be a supplemental argument, but you need something else to be the foundation. Making a lot of money doesn't explain why something is good or why we should do it over other things. I mean, we can make a lot of money through theft, or selling tobacco, maybe legalizing heroin. But those things are bad.
- 2y ago
drivingmenuts 2y ago
I don't think the people running the FTC care what happens so long as they land a huge sum of money to satisfy their boss. I suspect the FTC is not long for this world anyway and after this, it'll be a much more direct threat. Maybe I'm too paranoid and pessimistic, but a year ago that wouldn't even have been a consideration. Now, it's a possibility.

paulddraper 2y ago

The FTC signed off on the acquisition. Now they have third party buyers remorse.

giancarlostoro 2y ago

My favorite was that the deal was where Facebook agreed not to import IG into FB. They have merged the two together so much so that if Facebook has a complete outage, so does IG. Not only that, but Facebook "magically" knows when I'm on IG and vice versa.

alex1138 2y ago
Also I think if you sign up for Instagram you get Threads lol Nice account you got there, would be a shame if you deleted Threads and also deletes your Insta
- soco 2y ago
  But on my Android I got no Threads. True, IG tries their best to convince me to install it. Maybe I don't have it because my IG was created before times?
transcriptase 2y ago
Much like when a company is acquired and the execs of the acquisition assure everyone that nothing is going to change. Until it inevitably and drastically does because those execs no longer have any real power even if they weren’t explicitly lying.
- tialaramex 2y ago
  Oh yeah, lots of "First Time?" meme opportunities during acquisition.
granzymes 2y ago
>deal was where Facebook agreed not to import IG into FB What deal was this?
- captn3m0 2y ago
  This was for WhatsApp
pdpi 2y ago
> They have merged the two together so much so that if Facebook has a complete outage, so does IG. If AWS has a complete outage, so do many completely unrelated businesses. As a regulator, "running on the same infrastructure" would be the least of my worries and an acceptable carve-out for a "no integration" clause.
- zelphirkalt 2y ago
  Running on separate infrastructure makes it a lot easier to confirm for an auditor, that data is not being merged or used in combination though.
notyourwork 2y ago
And now I’ve noticed threads permeate IG to cross-pollinate.

joey_spaztard 2y ago

Also, Facebook/Meta said they would not be able to link WhatsApp accounts to facebook accounts. After they were allowed to buy WhatsApp they unsurprisingly began using metadata for things like knowing who Facebook users are talking to. They paid some fines that they show no sign of caring about.

dtquad 2y ago

This anti-big-tech hysteria in the US is dangerous. Applying early 20th antitrust thinking to modern tech companies is short sighted and doesn't show the whole picture. These American big tech companies that people like Steve Bannon and Lina Khan want to split up have been responsible for not only the impressive US GDP and wealth recovery and growth since the 2008 financial crisis but also for much of the rest of the world's wealth recovery and growth since the 2008 crisis. Danish pension funds have 25% allocation on US stocks but ~70% of the total returns in 2022-2024 came from US stocks with big tech companies leading the charge.

sc68cal 2y ago
"monopolies are good because line goes up"
- dtquad 2y ago
  >monopolies Where exactly? They lose market share to every new AI wrapper app and most young people are on the Chinese video app. >are good because line goes up The "line goes up" sarcasm really doesn't work when we are actually suddenly in a "line goes down" situation and it clearly sucks.
  - officeplant 2y ago
    The line going down is just a return to reality hopefully. So many vastly over valued tech stocks and tech adjacent stocks.
  - const_cast 2y ago
    > The "line goes up" sarcasm really doesn't work No it still works, because "but make a lot of money!" is _never_ an acceptable argument for anything. It may be a supplemental argument, but you need something else to be the foundation. Making a lot of money doesn't explain why something is good or why we should do it over other things. I mean, we can make a lot of money through theft, or selling tobacco, maybe legalizing heroin. But those things are bad.
2y ago

drivingmenuts 2y ago

I don't think the people running the FTC care what happens so long as they land a huge sum of money to satisfy their boss. I suspect the FTC is not long for this world anyway and after this, it'll be a much more direct threat. Maybe I'm too paranoid and pessimistic, but a year ago that wouldn't even have been a consideration. Now, it's a possibility.