4 ms·

I thought that backlash already occurred in 2016 with a certain election. I find it a little scary to see how much worse the backlash might look like.

by MollyR 9y ago

toomuchtodo 9y ago
For too long Big Tech has skirted regulations and is siphoning an outsized amount of profit from the economy without contributing back (Apple, Amazon), damaging the social fabric without care (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter), or consuming and aggregating vast amounts of personal data for profit (Google, Facebook). Did anyone in tech not think the reckoning would come? “Are we the baddies?” It’s like working for Marlboro with hoodies and catered lunches.
- iainmerrick 9y ago
  But the bulk of the population shows little interest in attacking Big Tech, and as other commenters here have noticed, the government's willingness to step in and regulate has greatly diminished.
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    Europe’s willingness to step in has not greatly diminished. The US government is currently a dumpster fire, with predictable results. As a US citizen, thanks Europe!
    - iainmerrick 9y ago
      I'd love to think you're right, but these companies are mostly based in the US and make most of their profits in the US and China. I don't think the EU has enough leverage to radically change the status quo.
- lnanek2 9y ago
  Don't really follow this assertion: > damaging the social fabric without care (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter) Without Facebook and Snapchat my parents would get something on the order of a written letter once a year and a call on their birthdays. With them they get to see daily life snaps on my story (usually funny things my wife or dog do, but whatever) and weekly Facebook photos of family events. It's much higher fidelity than written communication or phone calls and would make the social fabric stronger, not weaker.
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/12/12/former-facebook-vp-says-social-media-is-destroying-society-with-dopamine-driven-feedback-loops/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/12/12... https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761016/former-facebook-exec-ripping-apart-society https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761016/former-facebook... https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/dec/11/facebook-former-executive-ripping-society-apart https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/dec/11/facebook-... https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/15/facebook-just-admitted-that-using-facebook-can-be-bad-for-you.html https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/15/facebook-just-admitted-that-... https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/19/facebook-social-media-cold-turkey-devices https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/19/facebo... https://hbr.org/2017/04/a-new-more-rigorous-study-confirms-the-more-you-use-facebook-the-worse-you-feel https://hbr.org/2017/04/a-new-more-rigorous-study-confirms-t... https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/06/30/facebook-study/11756525/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/06/30/facebook-stud... http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/22/health/facebook-study-narrow-minded-trnd/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/22/health/facebook-study-narrow-m... https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/everything-we-know-about-facebooks-secret-mood-manipulation-experiment/373648/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/every...
ggggtez 9y ago
I think being coy here about what you are talking about doesn't help your case. For example, the US election, the dominance of Facebook/Google/Amazon/Microsoft never came up, unless maybe you mean the discussion of "Fake News" that had no effect until 2017 anyway.

I thought that backlash already occurred in 2016 with a certain election. I find it a little scary to see how much worse the backlash might look like.

by MollyR 9y ago

I thought that backlash already occurred in 2016 with a certain election. I find it a little scary to see how much worse the backlash might look like.

toomuchtodo 9y ago

For too long Big Tech has skirted regulations and is siphoning an outsized amount of profit from the economy without contributing back (Apple, Amazon), damaging the social fabric without care (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter), or consuming and aggregating vast amounts of personal data for profit (Google, Facebook). Did anyone in tech not think the reckoning would come? “Are we the baddies?” It’s like working for Marlboro with hoodies and catered lunches.

iainmerrick 9y ago
But the bulk of the population shows little interest in attacking Big Tech, and as other commenters here have noticed, the government's willingness to step in and regulate has greatly diminished.
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  Europe’s willingness to step in has not greatly diminished. The US government is currently a dumpster fire, with predictable results. As a US citizen, thanks Europe!
  - iainmerrick 9y ago
    I'd love to think you're right, but these companies are mostly based in the US and make most of their profits in the US and China. I don't think the EU has enough leverage to radically change the status quo.
lnanek2 9y ago
Don't really follow this assertion: > damaging the social fabric without care (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter) Without Facebook and Snapchat my parents would get something on the order of a written letter once a year and a call on their birthdays. With them they get to see daily life snaps on my story (usually funny things my wife or dog do, but whatever) and weekly Facebook photos of family events. It's much higher fidelity than written communication or phone calls and would make the social fabric stronger, not weaker.
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/12/12/former-facebook-vp-says-social-media-is-destroying-society-with-dopamine-driven-feedback-loops/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/12/12... https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761016/former-facebook-exec-ripping-apart-society https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761016/former-facebook... https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/dec/11/facebook-former-executive-ripping-society-apart https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/dec/11/facebook-... https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/15/facebook-just-admitted-that-using-facebook-can-be-bad-for-you.html https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/15/facebook-just-admitted-that-... https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/19/facebook-social-media-cold-turkey-devices https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/19/facebo... https://hbr.org/2017/04/a-new-more-rigorous-study-confirms-the-more-you-use-facebook-the-worse-you-feel https://hbr.org/2017/04/a-new-more-rigorous-study-confirms-t... https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/06/30/facebook-study/11756525/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/06/30/facebook-stud... http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/22/health/facebook-study-narrow-minded-trnd/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/22/health/facebook-study-narrow-m... https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/everything-we-know-about-facebooks-secret-mood-manipulation-experiment/373648/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/every...

ggggtez 9y ago

I think being coy here about what you are talking about doesn't help your case. For example, the US election, the dominance of Facebook/Google/Amazon/Microsoft never came up, unless maybe you mean the discussion of "Fake News" that had no effect until 2017 anyway.