Breaking up and Regulating Facebook: Unfair, Un-American, Unacceptable

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, former publisher of The New Republic, argues in a long essay for The New York Times that the company should be broken up and regulated, and indeed that this would be the “American” thing to do. His essay is full of assertions, half-truths, and misrepresentations that together amount to a very weak case for action. Indeed, if his advice were to be followed we would be left with a very un-American outcome—strong and proactive regulation of individuals’ speech.