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"The world no longer needs Facebook and its leaders. It does not need its technology." Meta owns WhatsApp, which is core infrastructure in many countries now w
by TFNA 2mo ago
"The world no longer needs Facebook and its leaders. It does not need its technology."
Meta owns WhatsApp, which is core infrastructure in many countries now where it has basically replaced the PSTN. If WhatsApp went down without a long transition process first, it would take myriad small businesses down with it. I would love to see harsh punishments and jailed executives, but the world still needs the company for the time being.
- axelthegerman 2mo agoWe really don't. If that finally does happen, people are quick to adapt to change it will use one of the many alternatives, maybe even one that's interoperable or open so we're not in the same mess five years later
- bigyabai 2mo ago> it will use one of the many alternatives, maybe even one that's interoperable or open If the collapse of Twitter is any indication, it might just drive people to even worse and more exploitative platforms instead.
- drivebyhooting 2mo agoWasn’t WhatsApp famously created by a team of 20 people? It’s not meta’s contribution to the world. It can be cleanly extracted from the company. Or a replacement created if need be.
- MissTake 2mo agoA myriad of small businesses also use Facebook as their public facing website.
- lrem 2mo agoI find that truly mystifying. I won’t go through the hassle of opening an account on any platform just to see some dumbed down website. I can’t be the only one, can I?
- SoftTalker 2mo agoOnly out of convenience. There are many alternatives, and search engines will find them. And (although it won't happen) if Facebook were ordered to shut down, hundreds of entrepreneurs would offer alternatives for "small business web presence"
- consensus1 2mo agoSo millions of small business owners would have to pay for something they get now for free
- windexh8er 2mo agoAnd just like they found Facebook they can, and will, find something else. And maybe they learn something about trust in that type of service the next time around.
- consensus1 2mo agoMaybe they have no interest in finding something else. Maybe they aren't interested in your opinion and don't see you as someone they are want to learn lessons from.
- windexh8er 2mo agoMaybe understanding the problem as outlined is important. Neither of the two sentences you've written make any sense in the context of what I said.
- graemep 2mo agoThere are plenty of cheap and better alternatives.
- consensus1 2mo agoAnd those business owners are free to choose those alternatives at any time they please. You are not free to make that choice for them.
- toast0 2mo ago> If WhatsApp went down without a long transition process first The transition mechanism is that your contacts are in your phone address book, and you can call or text them or find them on other platforms indexed by phone number. Although, not for username contacts. Would it be disruptive? Yes. Would it be world ending? No.
- TFNA 2mo agoThat is all well and good for individuals chatting with family, friends or small groups. But alot of small businesses all over the world are using WhatsApp for Business with features and data storage that cannot be immediately moved to another platform. If it disappeared tomorrow, you would see business failures and immediate economic impact in developing-world regions that can hardly afford such a hit.
- upboundspiral 2mo agoThis is trivial to solve. Launch two parallel cases. One against Meta top execs for criminal behavior, the other one as antitrust against Meta for abusing their market position. Two cases at once gives you negotiating power and clearly signals that you're serious about curtailing their influence. Ideally this results in jail time for Meta execs, but at a minimum divesting them of Whatsapp should be achievable. By the end you should be able to get Meta's businesses operating independently under new leadership.
- graemep 2mo agoThat is something that should concern those countries. It means their economies are extremely vulnerable to even light US sanctions.
- gopher_space 2mo agoWelcome to capitalism.
- deaux 2mo agoIt would take 1 week for everyone to move over to something else. > but the world still needs the company for the time being. You have been caught hook, line and sinker. Flush the koolaid out of your system. I can absolutely guarantee you that if all of Meta disappears tomorrow, everyone will move over to a like-for-like replacement within weeks. I'd be willing to bet everything I have on it. The world absolutely does not need Meta, period.