Today’s links Tech monopolists use their market power to invade your privacy: The FTC shows that privacy is a competition issue. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2019, 2023 Upcoming appearances: Where to find me. Recent appearances: Where I’ve been. Latest books: You keep readin’ em, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Colophon: All the rest. Tech monopolists use their market power to invade your privacy (permalink) It’s easy to greet the FTC’s new report on social media privacy, which concludes that tech giants have terrible privacy practices with a resounding “duh,” but that would be a grave mistake. Much to the disappointment of autocrats and would-be autocrats, administrative agencies like the FTC can’t just make rules up. In order to enact policies, regulators have to do their homework: for example, they can do “market studies,” which go beyond anything you’d get out of an MBA or Master of Public Policy program, thanks to the agency’s legal authority to force companies to reveal their confidential business information. Market studies are fabulous in their own right. The UK Competition and Markets Authority has a fantastic research group called the Digital Markets Unit that has published some of the most fascinating deep dives into how parts of the tech industry actually function, 400+ page bangers that pierce the Shield of Boringness that tech firms use to hide their operations. I recommend their ad-tech study: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/online-platforms-and-digital-advertising-market-study In and of…Pluralistic: Tech monopolists use their market power to invade your privacy (20 Sep 2024)