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> Seems more analogous to a tobacco company

They have an addictive product in common. But oil seems more apt.

The sale of tobacco is highly regulated. Oil, less so; Facebook, not at all.

Oil became useful in the Industrial Revolution, and enabled downstream innovation. Facebook came about amidst the modern Internet and is likewise a platform. Tobacco is old and the end of the line; the ancillary market is limited.

Finally, both oil and Facebook are tools (for some). Tobacco could be thought of as a tool, but it‘a more universally hedonistic.





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