John,
By now, you’ve probably heard that billionaire Elon Musk has purchased Twitter. There are many voices on all sides of this story, and one common refrain on Twitter is “if you don’t like it, just leave.” But the fact is there really aren’t many alternatives to the biggest platforms, and the alternatives that do exist don’t have the same network effects that make places like Twitter and Facebook powerful.
Tell Congress to pass antitrust laws so we have real choice when it comes to social media
In an ideal world, there would be many platforms to choose from—secure, decentralized options built on open source protocols and governed democratically by the people who use them. But as it stands, a handful of huge companies control the vast majority of our experience online.
That’s why we’ll continue to push for strong antitrust laws, like the Open App Markets Act and the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, that crack down on Big Tech’s abuses of monopoly power. Action on antitrust will make it possible for new social media protocols to emerge—so that if someone wanted to leave Twitter (or Facebook, or YouTube), they would actually have a place to go.
We can’t predict what this deal will mean for Twitter’s users, but one thing is clear: antitrust is a meaningful and achievable step away from a winner-takes-all ecosystem. Agree? You can contact Congress today to demand two antitrust bills move forward this session.
Signing off for now,
Evan at ❤️Fight
P.S. One thing Musk could quickly do to improve the platform for all of us: encrypt Twitter DMs. Sign our letter urging him to do so here.
Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.
