Facebook's Problems 'Predictable and Inevitable,' Powell Tells C-SPAN

Google are “big enough,” “intrusive enough” and “incentivized enough to potentially do things that would be harmful to society” that they “deserve regulatory scrutiny,” Powell, a former FCC chairman, said. It’s no longer possible for consumers to do anything to protect themselves from having their data exploited by such companies, Powell said. Facebook and Google are so large and so pervasive that only they can address the data and privacy problems with their platforms, he said. “I don’t think a consumer can meaningfully withdraw from social media,” Powell said. “Consumers have no way to protect themselves.” The recent concerns about Facebook’s privacy and data collection issues were “predictable and inevitable,” Powell said. Facebook’s advertising model is essentially “precision propaganda,” said Powell. Concerns about companies that primarily derive profits from data collection “will dominate regulatory discourse going forward,” he said. The “asymmetry” of regulations that target ISPs but not edge providers will have to be addressed, he said. “It’s no good to lock the front door if you leave the back door wide open,” he said. Powell conceded cable companies also are trying to take advantage of data collection, but he said every industry is, and cable doesn’t have access to the sheer mass of data that Google and Facebook can tap. Unlike edge providers, cable companies have relationships with their subscribers and have operated under privacy and data rules for years, Powell said.