The thought that government regulation would help this situation is odd to me, especially since the author brought up phone networks. The ATT monopoly in the USA was created by government for support of the war effort, so that’s a poor example of a need for more regulation. With social networks, regulation will only serve to further centralization, profit, and control. He who has the most money for lobbying will win the power to bend regulation to his whim. In this case, that money will be in the hands of big tech, and decidedly not in the hands of the public. The USA’s government is not a benevolent force for food in the world. The USA is not a democracy. The USA is an oligarchy, and it is increasingly becoming a feudal oligarchy since the oligarchs have pulled the ladder up behind themselves in seemingly every industry, and they’ve used government power to do so. The more money is thrown at something the more of that something results.<p>If you want to really change things, I’m with you, but you need a mass movement by the people and not a governmental intervention.