Facebook may well pull through the Cambridge Analytica scandal, but its standing as a business has undeniably taken a monumental hit. Mark Zuckerberg's apology before the US Senate probably seemed like savvy strategy in theory, but it rang hollow not least because, as Matt Taibbi put it, the man 'exudes all the warmth of a talking parking meter'.
But whether the company fails or succeeds is somewhat beside the point — we are finally starting to have discussions about the desirability of its business model. Because of course, Facebook is not the only company that strip mines data with almost sociopathic disinterestedness. The experience of the last two years has meant that the halcyon days of unregulated tech platforms may well be numbered. The big question is what comes next.
The call to #DeleteFacebook is growing in strength. This strategy may work for some people, and the movement highlights the importance of platforms respecting the rights of users to control their data, including to download and delete it. But the focus on users frames this as a problem of individual responsibility, rather than a structural feature of technology capitalism. Independent media, small businesses and countless communities are dependent on the platform. They have the right to privacy too.
Moreover, despite Zuckerberg's slipperiness on this point, it is clear that Facebook collects data on people who do not have an account. As such, imposing obligations on individuals to manage their own privacy is an insufficient response. Giving up driving a car might be good for the environment, but we are not going to address the problem of climate change unless with can come up with a much broader and more imaginative strategy.
It seems like this kind of thinking is not going to be found on Capitol Hill. Plenty of commentators have mocked the spectacle of the testimony, with the Vogon-like senators interrogating the perennially youthful Zuckerberg. Like Justice Dyson Heydon, it is easy to imagine some of these old white men ordering a hapless intern to print out their Facebook wall in preparation for the hearing.
Some of this criticism is justified. Zuckerberg's testimony was seriously lacking in meaningful accountability, and law-makers have been asleep at the wheel when it comes to regulating these platforms.
But playing it for the laughs misses something. The media relished Utah Republican Orrin Hatch's question as to how Facebook makes money, given its service is free. 'Senator, we run ads,' Zuckerberg