Move Fast and Break Things: Are Facebook, Amazon, and Google Hacking Our Democracy?

Jonathan TaplinAudio, Conversations, Perspectives, Politics, Science & Technology, Worldviews 3 Comments


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A hot topic in the 2016 election was the wealth disparity between the 1% and the rest of us ordinary Americans. One of the story points of this emergence is what the business and targeting practices of the tech giants Facebook, Google, and Amazon mean to us personally — one of the themes we will explore at the What NOW conference over New Years.

One of the excellent new books on this subject is Jonathan Taplin’s Move Fast and Break Things – How Facebook, Google and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy. Jonathan’s book does a really great job tracing the motivations of their founders as they morphed from startup tech innovators to dominant tech monopolies.

One of the concerns being raised this week is the role that Facebook played in the Russian hacking of the 2016 election. At first, Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook had nothing to do with the false advertising and fake news that targeted the electorate. But just this week, Facebook has admitted that they did have a problem with fake Russian accounts. Is this just the tip of the iceberg?

We are lucky enough to have caught Jonathan before he headed out on his much touted book tour. My 40 minute interview with Jonathan reveals important things you will want to know about if you are at all concerned about your personal data files being collected and targeted by these companies without your permission for marketing and political purposes.

-David Riordan

Click here to purchase Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy on — yep, you guessed it! — Amazon.

 
Jonathan Taplin

About Jonathan Taplin

Jonathan Taplin is Director Emeritus at the Annenberg Innovation Lab at USC, and the author of the book Move Fast and Break Things.

David Riordan

About David Riordan

David Riordan is Vice President of Media Development for Integral Life, Inc. David is responsible for managing Integral Life's media business development, including creating compelling and accessible stories in multiple mediums—including online, DVD and motion picture formats.

Comments

  2. Avatar

    Really Terrifying! And accurate. Jon gives a few roads out of the Digital Trap we’re in — but it looks pretty grim.

  3. Avatar

    Wow, there’s some creepy stats in this interview! Very interesting. I will say that on the other side of the coin, I benefit tremendously from Amazon because I’m home bound from an illness. Being able to shop for so much online gives me the ability to live on my own—a measure of independence.
    But thanks for the illuminating conversation regarding the ethics & pitfalls of that convenience!

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