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105 Va. L. Rev. Online 1 (2019)

handle is hein.journals/inbrf105 and id is 1 raw text is: COPYRIGHT 0 2019 VIRGINIA LAW REVIEW ASSOCIATION VIRGINIA LAW REVIEW ONLINE VOLUME 105 FEBRUARY 2019 1-17 FOREWORD FACEBOOK UNBOUND? Ashley Deeks * The concept of checks and balances is a core tenet of our democracy; we fear letting any single institution become overly powerful or insufficiently accountable. As Americans, we naturally apply this concept first and foremost to the interactions among our three branches of government, given the principle's constitutional origins. What happens, though, when a handful of exceedingly powerful private actors-today's behemoth technology companies-begin to have as much control over our lives as the government does? Should the same impulse that drives our commitment to interbranch checks and balances kick in? How can we ensure that our democracy remains our democracy, even when digitized? In the past, when highly powerful industries have emerged, our democratic system often has responded by erecting legal and regulatory frameworks around them. We applied antitrust laws to break up the railroads and oil companies.' We established the Food and Drug Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ensure that drug and car manufacturers take adequate measures to * E. James Kelly Jr.-Class of 1965 Research Professor of Law, University of Virginia Law School. Thanks to Professor Jennifer Daskal, Professor Rebecca Hamilton, and Professor Rebecca Ingber for very helpful comments. 1 See, e.g., United States v. Trans-Missouri Freight Ass'n, 166 U.S. 290 (1897) (applying antitrust law to the railroad industry); United States v. Joint Traffic Ass'n, 171 U.S. 505 (1898) (same); Standard Oil Co. v. United States, 221 U.S. 1 (1911) (applying antitrust law to the oil industry). 1

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