Let me start by asking you a question: is Facebook a media company? Many of you will confidently answer me “no” because, after all, ‘Facebook is fundamentally a technology company’. While you may be right, that doesn’t mean that Facebook couldn’t also be a media company. Let me explain.
Over the past few months you may have noticed that people around the world have become increasingly concerned with ‘fake news’, this is especially true in the US. Quite rapidly has the discourse on fake news moved away from the writers of these articles and onto and Facebook. If you have been following the news, then you will probably have noticed that Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is trying to fend off a political backlash against her company. The concern of the public is that Facebook is not doing enough to fight fake news and fraudulent ads. But why should a “technology company [that does not] employ journalists” (1) be treated like a media company?
Well, the thing is, in 2013 nearly a third of Americans were getting news from Facebook. Today, that number has grown to nearly half (2). Imagine that, 160 million people getting news from “technology company”. But this technology company does far more than act as a communication channel for people. Facebook provides a service to the masses that is underpinned by advanced algorithms that profoundly influence what news you and I see on our feeds. Facebook is no longer a social media platform, it has become one of the world’s biggest editor – indeed, one that is significantly more important than the news we get from our local newspaper agency.
Facebook claims it doesn’t employ journalists, but that’s highly debatable as well seeing as we fill that role ourselves. And without the expenses of employing journalists while still being able to produce content, Facebook has not only created a self-sustaining platform, but also generated a significant competitive advantage of media companies that do have to employ journalists. This is, in fact, unfair competition. One in which Facebook can collect all the advertising revenues without any of the associated costs.
I believe this story hasn’t gotten enough attention, which is why I’m bringing it to your attention. This marks a pivotal moment in our lives because, for the first time in history, more than two billion people are instantly and constantly connected to each other across boundaries. Yet, somehow, Facebook has managed to establish itself as a ‘fact’ distributor, generating huge revenues, without any of the associated liability. I think the time has come for Facebook to be realistic and admit it has become a media company, perhaps one of the most important ones of our time or at least in the Western world. Now, more than ever, must Facebook accept the responsibilities of a media company and check the quality of the information it provides, as all other media companies do.
Hope this has given you a different perspective on Facebook.
Hi Pepijn,
First of all great article. I think you touched upon a very relevant topic in contemporary discussions about the media and the role of fake news. Furthermore, I do agree that Facebook is not solely a tech company and has a major influence in a lot of different industries as well.
In the perspective of the media, Facebook indeed has a strong position. With the enormous amount of users, their outreach is much bigger than any other media company could dream of. However, I do not think it can be considered as unfair competition, as their core business is still posting the media content rather than the production of it. They are just providing a platform on which this content can easily be distributed. Therefore, I would consider it as a competitive advantage that has arisen from their disruptive impact as a platform.
However, something that is worrying is if Facebook uses its power to, for instance influence the content that is shown in their own advantage and preferences. Although this is not something that we expect them to do and can be considered as a negative thought, it might be something for governments to think of in legal considerations and the developments of restricting laws. Especially in relation to the fake news, I think Facebook has a moral duty to filter the posts in its network as this could have drastic influence on for instance elections. In case a company such as Facebook does not actively cooperate, the government seems the only authority that could change this and restrict the power of the company. So, maybe they really should consider Facebook as a media company?
Hi Pepijn,
You seem to be of the opinion that creating a platform classifies as unfair competition. According to you the fact that Facebook gets to collect ad reveneu without having to create content is unfair to media companies. But do you think this logic applies to other platforms as well?
Do you think that a company like Airbnb is competing unfairly, since it manages to collect service fees without having to own property?
In general I agree with you, Facebook is in a very powerful position because of the way it influences people’s news consumption. I just do not think Facebook is competing unfairly with media companies, as all Facebook is essentially doing is matching consumers with news content.