Last week, I criticized Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes’s argument over the need to break up Facebook. “We break up companies when they are bad for competition, not when their CEOs hold too much power,” I wrote.
My belief was based, in large part, on the fact that recent antitrust cases have targeted companies whose anticompetitive behavior leads to consumers paying higher prices. It’s hard to make the case that that’s true of Facebook, and I couldn’t see those arguing for a breakup gaining much traction.
I am still unconvinced that the government should break up the company. But, after this week, I do believe I was too dismissive of the prospects of those trying.