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Double standard much?
‘Facebook is the biggest problem we have for democracy,’ former investor says
‘Facebook is the biggest problem we have for democracy,’ former investor says
ROGER MCNAMEE IS AN INVESTOR with 35 years of experience in Silicon Valley, including stints at Silver Lake Partners and Elevation Partners—a venture firm he co-founded in 2004 with U2’s Bono.
McNamee was also an early investor in Facebook and a mentor to Mark Zuckerberg, an experience McNamee now has turned into a book whose title sums up his experience working with the company: Zucked: Waking Up To the Facebook Catastrophe.
McNamee has made news because of his assertion that the platform is a danger to public health and democracy. He discusses fundamental flaws in the design of Facebook’s algorithms and business model—flaws, he says, “that allow bad actors to exploit it and harm innocent people.”
McNamee says that the culture of the technology platforms—and Silicon Valley at large—echoes a larger shift in American capitalism, one that previously relied on government to “set the rules and enforce them across the entire economy” but now favors disruption and monopolistic tendencies. This, he says, “causes employees to be indifferent to the negative side effects of their success.”
Earlier this month, McNamee spoke with Ann Grimes, associate director of the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, at the Stanford Graduate School of Business about his transition from tech advocate to critic. What follows are edits of his remarks organized by themes.
‘Facebook is the biggest problem we have for democracy,’ former investor says
ROGER MCNAMEE IS AN INVESTOR with 35 years of experience in Silicon Valley, including stints at Silver Lake Partners and Elevation Partners—a venture firm he co-founded in 2004 with U2’s Bono.
McNamee was also an early investor in Facebook and a mentor to Mark Zuckerberg, an experience McNamee now has turned into a book whose title sums up his experience working with the company: Zucked: Waking Up To the Facebook Catastrophe.
McNamee has made news because of his assertion that the platform is a danger to public health and democracy. He discusses fundamental flaws in the design of Facebook’s algorithms and business model—flaws, he says, “that allow bad actors to exploit it and harm innocent people.”
McNamee says that the culture of the technology platforms—and Silicon Valley at large—echoes a larger shift in American capitalism, one that previously relied on government to “set the rules and enforce them across the entire economy” but now favors disruption and monopolistic tendencies. This, he says, “causes employees to be indifferent to the negative side effects of their success.”
Earlier this month, McNamee spoke with Ann Grimes, associate director of the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, at the Stanford Graduate School of Business about his transition from tech advocate to critic. What follows are edits of his remarks organized by themes.
Australia Strips Google/Facebook to Their Underwear
Australia Strips Google/Facebook to Their Underwear
A few weeks ago, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) dropped a giant report on the power of Google and Facebook, the result of an eighteen month investigation known as the “Digital Platforms Inquiry.” Final report & executive summary
This Australian report will be foundational for enforcers going forward, on the key questions of democracy, advertising, journalism, and big tech platforms. And when the U.S. finally gets serious, our enforcers will have a large body of knowledge available, thanks to the British-prisoners-turned-into-the-nation-of-Australia. What the ACCC got right and got wrong is what I’m writing about today.
While Australia is in the running, along with the UK and America, for the most dysfunctional political system in the Anglo-American world, the Australian government actually has a great antitrust enforcer named Rod Sims at the helm of its competition commission.
Why is Sims so great? There are certain vibes you get hanging around antitrust circles, and one of them is who the corrupt antitrust bar likes and who they don’t. Sims is someone they very much don’t like. And that means he’s worth listening to.
This report isn’t just an analysis, but will lead to serious enforcement actions, and likely very soon. …
If it’s so important, why haven’t you heard about this report?
A lot of people thought that this inquiry would be the moment an enforcer finally recommended a break-up of Google. This is not only because Sims is aggressive, but because Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp is quite powerful in Australia, and submitted a submission to the ACCC recommending such a break-up. Sims didn’t do that, disappointing many of us, and no doubt, Rupert Murdoch. The ACCC’s reasoning made sense. A break-up is premature, and other mechanisms should be attempted first. But that’s why you haven’t heard about the report. The big headline grabber - enforcer recommends break-up of Google - just isn’t in here.
But in my view, what the ACCC did say will eventually lead to a break-up. ...
Australia Strips Google/Facebook to Their Underwear
A few weeks ago, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) dropped a giant report on the power of Google and Facebook, the result of an eighteen month investigation known as the “Digital Platforms Inquiry.” Final report & executive summary
This Australian report will be foundational for enforcers going forward, on the key questions of democracy, advertising, journalism, and big tech platforms. And when the U.S. finally gets serious, our enforcers will have a large body of knowledge available, thanks to the British-prisoners-turned-into-the-nation-of-Australia. What the ACCC got right and got wrong is what I’m writing about today.
While Australia is in the running, along with the UK and America, for the most dysfunctional political system in the Anglo-American world, the Australian government actually has a great antitrust enforcer named Rod Sims at the helm of its competition commission.
Why is Sims so great? There are certain vibes you get hanging around antitrust circles, and one of them is who the corrupt antitrust bar likes and who they don’t. Sims is someone they very much don’t like. And that means he’s worth listening to.
This report isn’t just an analysis, but will lead to serious enforcement actions, and likely very soon. …
If it’s so important, why haven’t you heard about this report?
A lot of people thought that this inquiry would be the moment an enforcer finally recommended a break-up of Google. This is not only because Sims is aggressive, but because Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp is quite powerful in Australia, and submitted a submission to the ACCC recommending such a break-up. Sims didn’t do that, disappointing many of us, and no doubt, Rupert Murdoch. The ACCC’s reasoning made sense. A break-up is premature, and other mechanisms should be attempted first. But that’s why you haven’t heard about the report. The big headline grabber - enforcer recommends break-up of Google - just isn’t in here.
But in my view, what the ACCC did say will eventually lead to a break-up. ...
Facebook Employees Stage Virtual Walkout to Protest Trump Posts
While Twitter started labeling some of the president’s inflammatory messages, Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has said his company should leave them alone.
Hundreds of Facebook employees, in rare public criticism on Monday of their own company, protested executives’ decision not to do anything about inflammatory posts that President Trump had placed on the giant social media platform over the past week.
Many of the employees, who said they refused to work in order to show their support for demonstrators across the country, added an automated message to their digital profiles and email responses saying that they were out of the office in a show of protest.
The protest group — conducting a virtual “walkout” of sorts since most Facebook employees are working from home because of the coronavirus pandemic — was one of a number of clusters of employees pressing Facebook executives to take a tougher stand on Mr. Trump’s posts.
Inside the company, staff members have circulated petitions and threatened to resign, and a number of employees wrote publicly about their unhappiness on Twitter and elsewhere. More than a dozen current and former employees have described the unrest as the most serious challenge to the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive, since the company was founded 15 years ago.
[...]
Roger McNamee, a venture capitalist who was an early investor in Facebook but in recent years has turned into an aggressive critic of the company, said Facebook’s decision to leave Mr. Trump’s posts alone was typical of a longtime pattern of behavior among big social media companies.
“Internet platforms that are pervasive — as Facebook and Google are globally — must always align with power, including authoritarians. It is a matter of self-preservation,” Mr. McNamee said. “Facebook has been a key tool for authoritarians in Brazil, the Philippines, Cambodia and Myanmar. In the U.S., Facebook has consistently ignored or altered its terms of service to the benefit of Trump. Until last week, Twitter did the same thing.”
Source: Facebook Employees Stage Virtual Walkout to Protest Trump Posts
While Twitter started labeling some of the president’s inflammatory messages, Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has said his company should leave them alone.
Hundreds of Facebook employees, in rare public criticism on Monday of their own company, protested executives’ decision not to do anything about inflammatory posts that President Trump had placed on the giant social media platform over the past week.
Many of the employees, who said they refused to work in order to show their support for demonstrators across the country, added an automated message to their digital profiles and email responses saying that they were out of the office in a show of protest.
The protest group — conducting a virtual “walkout” of sorts since most Facebook employees are working from home because of the coronavirus pandemic — was one of a number of clusters of employees pressing Facebook executives to take a tougher stand on Mr. Trump’s posts.
Inside the company, staff members have circulated petitions and threatened to resign, and a number of employees wrote publicly about their unhappiness on Twitter and elsewhere. More than a dozen current and former employees have described the unrest as the most serious challenge to the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive, since the company was founded 15 years ago.
[...]
Roger McNamee, a venture capitalist who was an early investor in Facebook but in recent years has turned into an aggressive critic of the company, said Facebook’s decision to leave Mr. Trump’s posts alone was typical of a longtime pattern of behavior among big social media companies.
“Internet platforms that are pervasive — as Facebook and Google are globally — must always align with power, including authoritarians. It is a matter of self-preservation,” Mr. McNamee said. “Facebook has been a key tool for authoritarians in Brazil, the Philippines, Cambodia and Myanmar. In the U.S., Facebook has consistently ignored or altered its terms of service to the benefit of Trump. Until last week, Twitter did the same thing.”
Source: Facebook Employees Stage Virtual Walkout to Protest Trump Posts
Facebook employees stage virtual walkout in protest of company’s stance on Trump posts
In addition to the protest today, employees have circulated petitions that call for Facebook to add more diversity to its ranks, while others have threatened to resign if Zuckerberg does not reverse his stance. A handful of Facebook employees also spoke out against the company on Twitter, including Facebook’s head of design for Portal Andrew Crow. “… Giving a platform to incite violence and spread disinformation is unacceptable, regardless who you are or if it’s newsworthy,” Crow said. “I disagree with Mark’s position and will work to make change happen.”
Internal unrest at Facebook leaking out in the open is a relatively rare phenomenon. While other big tech companies have faced more open dissent in the last few years over political and ideological divides, Facebook employees generally close rank and keep their grievances within the company’s walls.
On Sunday night, Director of Product Management Jason Toff tweeted that he was “not proud of how we’re showing up.” “The majority of coworkers I’ve spoken to feel the same way. We are making our voice heard,” Toff said. Katie Zhu, an Instagram employee, took Monday to raise money for racial justice causes, tweeting “i’m deeply disappointed & ashamed in how the company is showing up the world rn.”
Source: Facebook employees stage virtual walkout in protest of company’s stance on Trump posts – TechCrunch
In addition to the protest today, employees have circulated petitions that call for Facebook to add more diversity to its ranks, while others have threatened to resign if Zuckerberg does not reverse his stance. A handful of Facebook employees also spoke out against the company on Twitter, including Facebook’s head of design for Portal Andrew Crow. “… Giving a platform to incite violence and spread disinformation is unacceptable, regardless who you are or if it’s newsworthy,” Crow said. “I disagree with Mark’s position and will work to make change happen.”
Internal unrest at Facebook leaking out in the open is a relatively rare phenomenon. While other big tech companies have faced more open dissent in the last few years over political and ideological divides, Facebook employees generally close rank and keep their grievances within the company’s walls.
On Sunday night, Director of Product Management Jason Toff tweeted that he was “not proud of how we’re showing up.” “The majority of coworkers I’ve spoken to feel the same way. We are making our voice heard,” Toff said. Katie Zhu, an Instagram employee, took Monday to raise money for racial justice causes, tweeting “i’m deeply disappointed & ashamed in how the company is showing up the world rn.”
Source: Facebook employees stage virtual walkout in protest of company’s stance on Trump posts – TechCrunch
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