Will Tech Companies Ever Take Ethics Seriously?

As Facebook and its cohort promise to become more ethical, we need a deeper conversation on why they keep abusing our trust

The Cambridge Analytica scandal was the latest hit in a long series of controversies involving leading Silicon Valley tech companies. Facebook, Google, Apple, Twitter, and Uber, to name a handful of the marquee players, keep popping up as targets of our great digital ambivalence. Many of us love aspects of their products and services while also hating the price we pay for using them: attachment, dependence, vulnerability, lock-in, and a sense of being exploited and of that exploitation being validated.

Mixed emotions exist because big tech companies aren’t fundamentally like big tobacco companies, despite how popular the metaphor has become. Yes, tech addiction is real. But tech companies aren’t pushing toxic, single-use products. Sure, they’ve helped eviscerate privacy, amplify prejudice, exploit psychological weaknesses, incentivize harassment, intensify distraction, and exacerbate political tensions. But we haven’t collectively kicked these companies to the curb yet, because proprietary digital tools also enhance personal, social, economic, and civic well-being, and the free and open source movements haven’t gotten the attention…