Policy and Big Tech

It’s that time of year again. Next Sunday’s CARD is our annual Hope in an Otherwise Crap Year edition. There’s a lot to be unhappy about but I’d love to know what gives you hope for 2022? Send me an email or DM me on Twitter and let me know. I’ll publish some of your responses next Sunday.

Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal broke in March of 2018, and the myriad of news stories about how horrible Facebook and its competitors are hasn’t let up since. Just in the last few months, we’ve had the Facebook Files/Facebook Papers which has generated hundreds of articles uncovering new scandals just this year alone. Anger at the tech platforms, especially Facebook, remains but from a public policy perspective not much has changed. Congress has passed no legislation to regulate Big Tech, and though the Biden Administration has put a lot of their interest and resources into anti-trust actions Facebook and the other platforms have yet to face any substantial consequences for any of the hate, harm, and harassment they’ve continually exposed their users to.

I continue to find the lack of accountability frustrating and maddening. But I also understand why we don’t see much action. As we’ve talked about here numerous times, Congress barely functions and while there’s widespread anger at Big Tech from both political parties, there’s almost no agreement about what to do. Policy has been another…