Privacy and tax are two massive issues facing Facebook. But only one of those is easy to fix

Of course there is no excuse for a firm with the resources of Facebook to not follow the laws of the lands in which it seeks to operate. But one unintended consequence of this system is to inhibit competition, and consolidate the position of the American giants, says Hamish McRae

Sunday 16 February 2020 17:27 GMT
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Mark Zuckerberg says it is for governments to develop new regulations concerning social media
Mark Zuckerberg says it is for governments to develop new regulations concerning social media

Facebook has two problems. One, tax, will be relatively easy to fix. The other, privacy, will be excruciatingly difficult to do so.

On Saturday Mark Zuckerberg, speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, acknowledged that Facebook would have to pay more tax:

“I understand,” he said, “that there’s frustration about how tech companies are taxed in Europe. We also want tax reform and I’m glad the OECD ​[Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development] is looking at this.”

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