this post was submitted on 24 May 2024
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More countries go after Big Tech.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yes, the SEC is important and it answers to the court. If an unelected SEC admin makes a bad call they can get shot down. Happens all the time. But you want an example? Oh boy, I gotta story for you.

The EPA has the power to regulate navigable waterways (rivers, lakes, etc.) given by Congress under the clean waters act. So they also said they could regulate swamps and estuaries. Fair enough, they're connected so something that effects those will effect the navigable waterways. Then they said they can regulate ditches and small disconnected streams. I mean all that stuff is sorta connected but it's really stretching it and not what congress intended with that law.

Then they said that if birds land in a puddle in your backyard it's a navigable waterway. Of course if a bird lands in a puddle then lands in a river those two things are the same and the EPA can regulate your backyard because it's now a navigable waterway. Doesn't matter that you're in the Arizona desert.

[The Wikipedia page if I sound like I'm quoting the onion] (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migratory_bird_rule)

The court gave them a pretty big bitch slap, and we're probably going to lose Chevron doctrine over it. Regulatory bodies always seek to expand their power. With no oversight things get bad fast.

Besides, how do you know someone at Google/Facebook/Microsoft etc won't set "hey regulator, mind just bankrupting our competition or running them out of the UK?" All they need to do is convince one unelected official, no oversight needed.

Unfettered regulatory agency power that makes a random admin judge jury and executioner is a bad decision. I know the hate boner for big tech is strong here, but give it some time. I'm sure within the next 5/10 years the Lemmy crowd will be freaking out when some admin does something very bad and there's no recourse.