MORGAN ORTAGUS (NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST): I think the question is not when is regulation coming but what kind. I mean, Facebook, Google, everyone knows that it's on its way. Me, Dagen, many others have called for these social media companies taking more of a self-regulatory approach which might be, you know, too late at this point. But I think what might be in Facebook's favor like many industries that we're looking at is the divided Congress, can you get the Democrats in the House and Senate Republicans on the same page as it relates to any sort of regulation. I think that is -- that's a tough call but that would have to come in a broader package as it relates to election security writ large.
MARIA BARTIROMO (HOST): Yeah, it's a good point, are the Democrats going to go along with this.
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BARTIROMO: In terms of regulation, is it the fact that they are incredibly powerful that they are going to be forced to get smaller? Or is it the fact that they are censoring conservative ideas, which we know they have done?
JAMES FREEMAN (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL): Yeah, it's amazing that Times story, apparently there was internal backlash when [Facebook's Mark] Zuckerberg said, no, we're not going to censor Donald Trump's tweets. I mean --
ORTAGUS: Facebook posts, but yeah.
FREEMAN: -- or I'm sorry, his Facebook posts, excuse me, not tweets, his Facebook posts, which, you know, a media company should not be in the business of doing, right, so --
BARTIMORO: Just the fact that they said that just shows so much.
FREEMAN: It's interesting. But I really think, to me, the danger is regulation here, because I worry that you do get a bipartisan deal with Facebook and the other social media giants that basically puts up barriers to new competitors, freezes the market as it is. I don't think we -- as many problems as people may see in Facebook, I don't think a federal internet regulator is the answer. I think what you want is to keep the pressure on them not to do what they appear to have been doing in terms of diminishing conservative voices.
