Note that this is a bit of an exaggeration: > The same holds true of Google, which the FTC had dead to rights for manipulating their search results in favor of

Note that this is a bit of an exaggeration: > The same holds true of Google, which the FTC had dead to rights for manipulating their search results in favor of their homegrown services and AGAINST their own partners. When Google works against its own partners covertly, what would a reasonable person call it? Or at least seems to me that way[1]. "works against its own partners covertly" it a bit presumptuous as well - certainly implies malice and intent. To be entirely honest, I'm not sure how this article ties in with reality. Right now if you are a "content creator" you would actually be the one paying Facebook in order to simply be able to reach your own fans (Pages). Or, you simply ignore it and let your users do the Facebook-promoting for you. While I'm not saying that the current status quo is good, how did we get from that, to Facebook paying content creators to link to their (freely available) content? > These [content creating] companies do not need Facebook, Yahoo, Google, or Twitter — in fact, the opposite! How so? Facebook has "the global audience" - of certain age groups, at least. It is the closest thing to an online passport. Content creators get traffic from Facebook. Facebook gets traffic because of interesting content shared. They don't "need" Facebook, but it certainly doesn't hurt them that people have a quick way to share their content with tons of people. [1] http://nypost.com/2015/03/30/senate-may-probe-ftc-decision-to-give-google-a-pass/ http://nypost.com/2015/03/30/senate-may-probe-ftc-decision-t... > The FTC’s competition staff in 2012 recommended suing Google over three practices deemed harmful to consumers and rivals, including “scraping” content illegally from other sites and restricting advertisers from placing ads with rivals. > Instead of suing, however, the FTC reached an agreement with Google in January 2013, in which the search giant voluntarily agreed to change its practices to appease regulators. > It is not unusual for FTC commissioners to vote against taking legal action when different divisions of the agency’s staff fail to reach a consensus, a DC source said.