Looks like the Federal Trade Commission's opposition to Facebook's attempt to dismiss their case to break the company into bits for anticompetitive behavior was just filed. Night reading...
this summary of amended complaint's metrics to establish market power is a reminder how absurdly Facebook's lobby tried to argue FTC hadn't backed up their monopoly claim. Having been around a few digital media businesses for 25+yrs, these are valid metrics to move forward. /2
oh, and there's that not-so-minor point, too. the competition used the same metrics. /3
Yes, Facebook argued Daily Active Users and Monthly Active Users didn't measure intensity and then ignored the 3rd metric (Time Spent) which very much measures intensity because according to FB not 100% of the app usage was personal social networking services. Seriously. /4
those who have been around long enough to know the history of comscore (or the company formerly known as MediaMetrix) may enjoy this point to the courts. Amen. Just give us the data, please. /5
Damnit, Mark. As our autocratic CEO, you can't entirely undermine our attempt to create a legal argument to protect you. /6
Raise your hand if you've been unsatisfied with Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg's products.✋🏽/7
There they go again - facebook employees serving up the evidence to entirely undermine our legal arguments. This is why Google reportedly sent out a list of rules of what not to say in writing. /7
I've yet to find anyone to argue with me that the world, and I mean the entire world, would be different if Facebook and Instagram would have had to actually compete with each other over the last five years. /8
side note, little known but we learned through leak documents that this "enforcer" on the legal side was Monika Bickert - years before she pivoted into being Sheryl and Mark's trusted lieutenant on policing content and defending the company in front of lawmakers and on CNN. /9
I mean it doesn't read well - they weaponized their app platform and access to their data by restricting any other app from competing with them in exchange for access while at the same time not letting any app integrated with a competitive personal social network. /10
Zuckerberg and Sandberg have pulled the football on the industry so many times it isn't funny. The word of the company has zero value - I have too many examples to count. /11
I may know someone who signed a multimillion dollar deal for access to those APIs then was cut off from them going forward. I bet we all do. /12
If I were God for a day, I would just restrict Facebook from collecting any/all data from outside and across each of its respective apps (if they're not split up in this case) as the German Cartel Office has ordered. It's a reasonable remedy for their data abuses. /13
It seems like with the $5 billion pay-off and ***second*** consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission, the regulator may be now taking a hint about the moral bankruptcy of the company. /14
Ha, and there it is. Exactly to my last tweet, the Federal Trade Commission says the quiet part out loud, "no one trust you, Facebook. Your word is 'meaningless.'" /15
And glad FTC made this argument regarding the Chair. Imagine if having an adverse opinion of Facebook Inc actually disqualified people from prosecuting a case against Facebook, there would be no lawyer left standing. /16
Here is a link to my thread on the full amended FTC complaint. My abbreviated analysis of tonight's filing is this case is moving forward regardless of the spin Facebook fed through its lobby and influencer-flex when it was originally filed. /eof
Friday night KA-boom. In adtech antitrust lawsuit against Google, court has ordered the state AGs may depose Google co-founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai. Huge. /1
So the two cited reasons Pichai will be deposed (although not all of them) are incredibly sensitive. 1), “Jedi Blue,” the alleged collusion with Facebook that everyone wrongly wrote off back earlier in this lawsuit. Google CEO Pichai met directly with Facebook CEO Zuckerberg. /2
A reminder the Google and Facebook deal (aka the “NBA” or “Jedi Blue”) is also in a private antitrust suit against Facebook. The deal was signed by the lieutenants of the CEOs (Sheryl Sandberg for Facebook). /3
US v Google flooded docket (103 filings!) over weekend as Court said Friday...hey now, let's skip summary judgment, this baby is going to trial. Much is companies trying to keep their secrets sealed but we get a sense for the witnesses. And a small taste of evidence to come. /1
On the companies filing to keep their secrets sealed which they mostly provided under subpoena, it's a mix of adtech, agencies, platforms, you name it. /2
We also learn some glossary items which likely come up:
'RASTA' - Google's tool to evaluate new 'launches' (aka changes) in ad serving system, runs on live traffic
'Ariane' - identifies and summarized launches
'Launch' - creative name (lol), it replaced Ariane in 2020/2021 /3
SCOTUS just posted order list. It granted cert to Facebook on its Cambridge Analytica matter. Only first question but that’s a huge one. Basically should Facebook have disclosed to shareholders what it started to cover up in 2015 rather than presenting risk as hypothetical? /1
Here is the actual first question as written. One immediate item, it’s outrageous if Justice Kavanaugh didn’t/doesn’t recuse seeing his reported best friend, Joel Kaplan, was directly involved in the matter and its cover up. He threw his SCOTUS confirmation party IIRC. /2
Here is a link into background. I strongly urge press not to overlook this or assume you know fact history. Over the years much has played out in coverup and much of the reporting has been bent towards Facebook’s spin. I am more than happy to point you to the court records. /3
“X has lost dozens of major advertisers under Musk’s ownership, with 74 out of the top 100 U.S. advertisers from that month no longer spending on the platform as of May.” 1/4
Smart NBC report focusing on amplification, velocity and reach, “X isn’t living up to its own policies when it allows violent extremists to use the platform’s amplification features.” 2/4
“It’s not clear to what extent people at X were aware that the company was monetizing the extremist hashtags prior to NBC News’ reporting.” 3/4
Let’s do this. As I’ve said in the past, nothing makes a statement on important news close to the newspaper front page. Across America, almost every editor went with the simple fact, “Guilty.”
Let’s start with the biggest circulation. /1
I shouldn’t overlook Chicago and Los Angeles, Same. /2
Now let’s drop down to Florida for maybe obvious reasons to see how they reported it… /3
Super smart, important read in Washington Post for regulators, media executives, lawmakers. At a high level, Meta continues to use its market power to suppress all value in brands, news orgs and media companies. Brands are proxies for trust, but profit and data to Meta. /1
“These are platforms doing what platforms do, which is trying to optimize the time spent and the data collected. They don’t really have much interest or care for what happens to news outlets or journalists,” said @emilybell. /2
@emilybell But what is interesting here that needs to be pursued. How will Canada react considering they have a code that seeks to curb this imbalance in bargaining power. Facebook is attempting to run over to prevent further spread dismissing it as ineffective law. They’re wrong. /3