Moussavi is a member of Iran's Expediency Council, which mediates between the parliament and the non-elected Guardian Council led by Ayatollah Khamenei.
Some Republicans have called for the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Labour Relations Board, which mediates employer-union relations.
Likewise, part of what Lanier finds most regrettable about Facebook the way it mediates social contact is precisely what makes it so appealing to most people.
Last month, the Financial Ombudsman Service, which mediates in cases where complaints cannot be resolved, said there had been a big increase in the number of complaints.