The first part of a multi-pronged solution would be to prohibit Facebook from making any acquisitions. It is difficult to tell which companies it wants to acquire might grow into competitors, as many feel Instagram might have become had it not been acquired by Facebook. Given all that we now know, it’s better to err on the side of allowing these potential competitors to survive as independents, than to permit Facebook to remove their threat to its market dominance. Yes, this would deprive such companies of financing by Facebook, but a shortage of venture capital for promising high-tech firms is not a serious problem: Good prospects can find funds elsewhere, although not at a price that includes the premium Facebook is willing to pay to stifle incipient competition.

Second, require Facebook to stop making its platform available to app developers. Simply as a logistical matter, Zuckerberg’s promise to “restrict” such access is difficult to enforce—witness the massive resources he is prepared to devote to trying to enact such a restriction. Sandberg, in her television interview, repeatedly cites “bad actors,” who will always try to abuse the system. Which is true—and all the more reason to close the app entry door to the Facebook database…

Third, and most important, recognize that Facebook is a media company, a position Congress inched towards last week when it when it decided that the protection from liability that internet companies enjoy would not apply to sex trafficking. Media companies—newspapers being the most prominent example—are responsible not only for the safety of the presses on which they print news, but for the content they choose to print.