Should Facebook be regulated? CEOs weigh in

CEOs were asked: Is Facebook too powerful? It’s now become a kitchen-table question. In what ways, if any, does their business need to be regulated?　

The combination of personal information and advertising is an inherent conflict for Facebook. Many people are leaving Facebook, or in the case of the youngest generations, have never used it. Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok are providing social media services without the overwhelming amount of advertisements one finds on Facebook. Security concerns have also led parents to restrict their children’s access to Facebook. Technology and the network effect allow rapid growth but also rapid decline for social media companies. This is a new frontier and legislation is not keeping pace with the changing environment.

Andy Ansin, vice president, Sunbeam Properties

Facebook is an incredible connector tool be it old friends reuniting or new connections growing closer. It has unfortunately become polarized as a societal vehicle used to mislead, to spread hate, drive conspiracy and peddle fake news. While freedom and open source of information is important, I would like to see standards for sourcing of information, proper labeling of opinion pieces and authenticating members from false accounts and phishing attacks.

Michael Balaban, president, CEO, Jewish Federation of Broward County

Facebook can only be deemed too powerful if the people “running the show” are not asking the tough questions and demanding rigorous answers of themselves. Lime has given me the chance to reinvent myself once again. From banker to payments technology exec and now to micromobility as general manager for Lime in Florida. I am at the point in my life where leadership possibilities are endless. This question also encourages me to reflect about our role in the world to ensure we live our values and that it translates down through our employees and ultimately our users. Tech can and should have a positive impact in improving people’s lives and the greater world around us, but it is always incumbent upon the industry to self-assess if ever it seems we’re straying from that outcome. Ultimately, there is always a role for regulators and thoughtful elected and public officials, which also encourages me to wonder if I should someday run for office, as we all have a voice making both legislators as well as corporations accountable.

Uhriel Bedoya, Florida general manager, Lime

Facebook is likely too powerful and I don’t see the political will yet to effectively regulate it.

Claudia Busch, founding principal, Berenblum Busch Architects

Mark (Zuckerberg), forgive me, but, yes, Facebook, if not too powerful, is at minimum too influential. Our newest and youngest learners lean on these social medial platforms for their news and assessment of matters. Unfortunately (and fortunately), the First Amendment allows the freedom of expression, and Facebook represents the best and worst of free speech. I have felt, for a while, that Facebook can be an invaluable source for information, but only if FB voluntarily builds a ‘gold seal’ that can be assigned to credible and unbiased news sources. Allowing news outlets to voluntarily register for the ‘seal’ and financing the costs of monitoring these providers with a membership fee can ensure the integrity of important information. The ‘seal’ should be awarded and monitored by an ethnically, racially and politically diverse editorial board.

Anita Byer, CEO, Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk

Facebook has been losing popularity, and consequently power, for a while now. In general, I don’t believe in over-regulation of businesses in a free market..

Ricardo Dunin, founding partner, Lionheart Capital

It should be regulated based on the behavior of Facebook. If it behaves like a newspaper or media outlet, regulate it as such. If it chooses to be a pure social interaction platform, then apply those rules to the game. If it decided to be a political and policy influencing platform, treat it a lobbying group and regulate accordingly.

Carlos R. Fernandez-Guzman, president, CEO, Pacific National Bank (PNB)

Facebook started off with good intentions, but as the saying goes “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” What started off as an innocuous way to share pictures, find friends and build a global community, has morphed into accusations of improper data collection and dissemination of disinformation, to name a few negative consequences. I don’t know that regulation is the answer, but the serious discussion should continue, especially about data collection.

Christine Franklin, president, Cherokee Enterprises

I don’t think Facebook is too powerful. I think people are simply too addicted to their phones and forget that life is better lived in person rather than on your phone. It’s one thing to share pictures of great life events with friends, but it’s another to live your entire life in front of a small screen instead of within a large and beautiful world.

Arnaud Karsenti, managing principal, 13th Floor Investments

I think all social media, not just Facebook, requires some monitoring and likely more checks and balances. However, we need to be careful with the introduction of any regulations that may inadvertently affect freedom of speech and American free enterprise. In my arena, it’s been evident, for example, that FB understood that they were not going to be in the good graces of the government when they introduced their bitcoin, LIBRA. But the real question is, who will own one’s data? In Europe, great strides have been made to protect consumer data. But this has stifled creativity a bit. In my industry, financial services, the challenge will be who will deliver the best results for the customer without impeding on their privacy. Will it be the Fintechs, banks, social media or big data companies? The jury is still out. The truth is that social media has influenced every aspect of financial services. It has moved far beyond a venue to post about life, family or levity and grown into a business platform with real-time industry updates, changing relationships between clients and business. Not only are social media channels a way for customers to interact with banks and Fintechs, but also where innovations and, of course, bad reports or complaints are posted. Every company in my industry has taken a deep dive into social media. A central part of customer service is today being offered through social media because it’s where customers and also prospects reside. Creative proactive and effective reactive social media approaches increase visibility and the reach of messages and content. For these reasons, as mentioned, the impacts of regulation or other controls must be very carefully considered before being instituted.

Bernie Navarro, founder and president, Benworth Capital Partners

Social media platforms should follow regulations when it pertains to the exchange and delegation of data. Currently, social media giants have complete control of our data (data monopolies), when in actuality, the information that is provided belongs to the user and not the platforms. If these social media companies were to become compatible with other platforms and make our data openly available, it would foster competition by allowing consumers to choose and switch between platforms with little to no friction. For instance, the way in which the European Union has dealt with financial data through Open Banking regulations may be an example to follow.

Sanket Parekh, founder and managing partner, Secocha Ventures

A broad based team of smart people form a variety of walks of life should address the issue of not only regulating Facebook but all major forms of social media, and the sooner the better, as the tools are becoming increasingly powerful. The Arab Spring across many countries in Northern Africa several years was impacted by social media, creating tremendous social change and upheaval in the region.

Julio Ramirez, president, CEO, JEM Global Consulting

The short answer is, yes, Facebook is too powerful. Like many trends in our history that are driven by advances in technology, their rate of adoption is faster than our ability to understand all the implications. We need to continue the effort of understanding what Facebook has become, and how we might mitigate the negative impacts.

Kelley Shanley, president, CEO, Broward Center for the Performing Arts

It’s not just Facebook, it is also the other big tech companies that wield too much power for most people’s comfort. Government definitely has an important regulatory role, but that role has to be balanced with the right to free speech and the right to operate lawfully and profitably. I think that for most people the biggest concern is that these corporations may already have too much influence to be able to effectively reign them in, as well as their potential influence on our elections.

Evelio C. Torres, president, CEO, Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade and Monroe

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