Dear Senator Hawley,

I hope this open letter finds you well. I suspect you're curious: why does the domain name include your name, especially a top-level domain (TLD)? Well, there is an answer to that question, and it's very simple: it was for sale. More bad news: not only do I own your .IO domain name but also your .AI domain name. How could you let this happen? I suspect you didn’t realize how important these web addresses, more commonly known as URLs, are. Did you know that a domain name is an intangible asset? They have value, and the estimated value of the JoshHawley.IO domain name is just this side of $1,000.00. LindseyGraham.IO has you beat by about $300, give or take. And to make sure we are on the same page, these domain names are NOT for sale. So much for any accusations of cybersquatting. No, I intend to use these domain names to “call you out,” so to speak. Let's call it an essay. Let's call it what it is, a 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech.

Ok, let's get down to it. Have you ever been to Menlo Park, CA? It's a nice town and the home of Meta. Who am I? No one of any real consequence. But I do live on the San Francisco Peninsula and I am a Class B General Contractor. I work for a lot of folks that work at Meta. Tens of thousands of people work for Meta, and they bust their a** to make Facebook as safe as possible. The web is full of bad people, very bad people, and the folks at Meta use the latest tech to protect its users as best they can. It's a war with battles, and most battles are won, and some not so much. So I think “Zuck” (what most folks who work at Meta call Mr. Zuckerberg) is very concerned about safety. And so is his team. You go on and on about Mr. Zuckerberg's wealth, and he should do more, but you make no mention of CZI (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative). CZI will end up benefiting humanity in ways you and I can’t even begin to realize. I am fairly sure that funding CZI is being paid for by Zuck. The reason Facebook is so successful is that hundreds of millions of people, heck, it might even be in the billions, use the platform...DAILY! And there is no charge to do so. No one comes to your home and forces you to use Facebook or Instagram; it's a choice. And tens of thousands of people are working every day to make it as safe as possible. I know a lot of these folks, and they are serious about their jobs.

So Senator, are you a betting man? I will bet you that I can find thousands of people in your state who wake up every morning, grab their coffee, jump online, and their first stop is Facebook. Maybe check out Facebook Groups before you take that bet. I will also find folks who are disabled, alone, have no family, or maybe family can’t visit, and they use Facebook to “NOT BE ALONE.” Maybe some folks aren't their best with other people, but they love their cat or dog, and so they log on to Facebook Groups and search out other pet owners, and now they have friends with things in common, at NO charge. And if there is someone in the group that they might have an issue with, they can block that person, etc. I could write for days on all the good things that Facebook provides humanity at large. You focus on a battle that thousands of people are working on with good days and bad days and then tear down a man and company that has done more for the benefit of mankind than anyone else I can think of. Why don’t you step up and make a trip to Menlo Park, and take a look for yourself at what they do there. Can we just agree that maybe you might not have all the info to make an informed decision? Let's be honest here, I am writing to you on your URL, and that's a fact, so maybe, just maybe you have some things to learn.

Stacy Gates
contact@stacygates.io

For any inquries, please contact: contact@stacygates.io