ST_FacebookisEverywhere

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2020 | | Opinion Special Section G1 Facebook’s market power leaves news organizations at its mercy | G3 Facebook’s threat to a competitive economy and democracy | G2 Unfriending Facebook: What we can do about the social media giant’s dominance | G5 Consumers must raise their collective voice to remedy the harms from big tech mining their data | G4 Untangling the existential threat to democracy and the free press | G6 Understanding the landscape | G2 F acebook is where you check the latest happenings with your family, liking or loving (with the Facebook emojis, of course) photos of the newest addition to the family, a sibling’s promotion or a friend’s ironic take on the COVID-19 lockdown. Or you can show sympathy for an acquaintance’s lost loved one, a cousin’s unsuccessful team or a co-worker’s bad haircut. It’s also in the news by way of reports from Congress, revelations from U.S. intelligence services and warnings from advocacy groups. National security officials tell us the platform is among the ways that Russian operatives manipulated public opinion during the 2016 election and continue to do so right now. The House Judiciary Committee recently released the results of a 15-month investigation into the anticompetitive practices of digital platforms, including Facebook. In June, the Omidyar Network released a report, “Roadmap for an Antitrust Case Against Facebook,” which prompted this Seattle Times special section. The case is complex. The tendrils of Facebook entwine with our politics, our consumer habits and the news we see — and don’t see — in ways that pose challenges for our democracy and our economy. Our objective with this section, comprising analysis and arguments by free press advocates and Seattle Times Opinion journalists and executives, is to explain and provoke. Thank you for reading. Kate Riley, Seattle Times Opinion Editor FACEBOOK IS EVERYWHERE. A SPECIAL OPINION SECTION EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY MONOPOLIES Going beyond antitrust to rein in Facebook and Google | G4