Hughes said a lack of regulatory oversight has given Facebook—and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who controls most of the company’s voting shares—an alarming amount of power over society. Facebook’s algorithms, and those of its subsidiaries Instagram and WhatsApp, determine what its millions of users see online, which can be used to inhibit its rivals and bolster fringe political candidates. In a statement, Facebook said it recognized the need for accountability, but that it shouldn’t be broken up: “Accountability of tech companies can only be achieved through the painstaking introduction of new rules for the internet.” (New York Times, The Verge)

Talking point: Hughes said Facebook’s concentration of power isn’t limited to just the social media company: it’s a broader trend within Silicon Valley. He also said that although we have the tools to rein in Facebook through regulation, there isn’t the will to do so. That may be changing—Democratic U.S. presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar have expressed concern over the tech industry’s monopoly; Warren has explicitly called to break the giants up.