Re:Regulating Technology
by aspenmayer on Monday July 27, 2020 @10:38AM
(#23965479)
Can you give some examples of the alternatives to regulation you refer to?
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Historically, companies as well as individuals respond well to economic incentive (both positive and negative). As an example from a different industry, carbon credits have created a market that encourages and rewards green activity; taxation on products and services that are perceived as "negative" acts as a constraint on supply and demand.
Equally, the government itself is a huge purchaser of services and has undue influence in how companies behave. The desire for companies to win federal and military contracts allows governments significant leverage; perhaps not in the Facebook case, but certainly in areas like cloud.