Graham: OK, would you submit to us and propose regulations? So would you work with us in terms of what regulations you think are necessary in your industry? Graham: Have you ever submitted… (laughter) That’s true. Zuckerberg: Ah, I think that they get… things right. Graham: Do you think the Europeans have it right? Zuckerberg: I think if it’s the right regulation then yes. Graham: But you as a company welcome regulation? Zuckerberg: I think the real question as the internet becomes more important in people’s lives, is what is the right regulation, not whether there should be regulation. Zuckerberg: Well Senator, my position is not that there should be no regulation. What do we tell our constituents, given what’s happened here, why we should let you self-regulate? What would you tell people in South Carolina, that given all the things we’ve just discovered here, it’s a good idea for us to rely on you to regulate your own business practices? Here’s the question that all of us got to answer. My point is that one way to regulate a company is through competition, through government regulation. Zuckerberg: Because they were very talented app developers who were making good use of our platform and understood our values. Zuckerberg: (long pause) Ah, it certainly doesn’t feel like that to me! (laughter) Graham: You don’t think you have a monopoly? Zuckerberg: It overlaps with a portion of what we do. Graham: Is Twitter the same as what you do? Zuckerberg: Well, we provide a number of different services. Graham: OK, which is the same service that you provide. Zuckerberg: …to communicate with their friends and stay in touch with people, ranging from text to email.
Zuckerberg: Yes Senator, the average American uses 8 different apps… Is there an alternative to Facebook in the private sector? If they make a defective car, it gets out in the world, people stop buying that car, they buy another one. Because car companies face a lot of competition. I’m talking about is there real competition you face. Graham: I’m not talking about categories. Zuckerberg: Ah well, the second category that I was going to talk about was… If I’m upset with Facebook, what’s the equivalent product that I can go sign up for? If I buy a Ford and it doesn’t work well and I don’t like it, I can buy a Chevy. Zuckerberg: Um, in different ways, different parts of it yes. Graham: Do they do, do they provide the same service that you provide?
One are the other tech platforms, so Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, we overlap with them in different ways. Zuckerberg: So there are three categories I would focus on. Zuckerberg: Mmm… I think the categories of… do you want just one? I’m not sure I can give one. Zuckerberg: Senator, we have a lot of competitors.
The Senator also makes it clear that he doesn’t think Facebook should be allowed to self-regulate - but his invitation to Zuckerberg to collaborate on rules sure sounds like he wants the company to have a say in how it should or should not be bound by law. Demanding a simpler answer by employing a folksy car-buying metaphor, he makes it clear that at least from one perspective, Facebook is more or less without a real competitor - with the possible exception of Instagram, which it of course opted to buy for a fortune rather than allow it to exist as a credible rival. Graham doesn’t let Zuckerberg employ his spin on the admittedly complex question of what Facebook’s competitors are. But there was an exchange near the two-hour mark that was pleasantly refreshing: Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) doggedly pursuing a common-sense answer from Zuckerberg on the question of whether it had any real competition. Today’s testimony by Mark Zuckerberg in front of a Senate joint committee was often boring or redundant with previous statements.