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Exponent

Episode 168 — A Community of Loonies

48 min episode · 2 min read
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Episode

48 min

Read time

2 min

AI-Generated Summary

Key Takeaways

  • How should regulators distinguish between infrastructure and application layers?
  • What market failures justify regulation of ad-supported platforms?
  • Why do engagement-driven business models create societal externalities?

What It Covers

Ben Thompson and James Allworth propose a regulatory framework for internet platforms, distinguishing between infrastructure providers and user-facing services to address content moderation challenges.

Key Questions Answered

  • How should regulators distinguish between infrastructure and application layers?
  • What market failures justify regulation of ad-supported platforms?
  • Why do engagement-driven business models create societal externalities?

Notable Moment

Thompson explains how Australia's rushed content law threatens to jail infrastructure providers for user uploads, potentially forcing global services to block Australian users entirely.

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