Christopher Mims
YIKES.
Following Elon Musk’s lead, Big Tech is surrendering to disinformation
Facebook and YouTube are receding from their role as watchdogs against conspiracy theories ahead of the 2024 presidential election
"The evolution of the companies’ practices was described by more than a dozen current and former employees... The new approach marks a sharp shift from the 2020 election."
Aral Balkan
@leahabshaffer @mimsical Eric Schmidt to me during a social event at a Soho bookshop: “I wake up every morning and I fight regulation, it’s what I do, it’s my job.”
(This was when he was Google’s executive chairman.)
It’s the only thing they’re afraid of. Sadly too many policymakers are either too clueless, awestruck, or corrupt to exercise the power they have.
Related: https://ar.al/2019/05/11/the-dos-and-donts-of-tech-regulation/ and https://ar.al/2019/11/29/the-future-of-internet-regulation-at-the-european-parliament/
a leah
@mimsical Tech is so overdue for regulation. They ain't gonna police themselves.
Michael Gemar
@aral @hannu_ikonen @leahabshaffer @mimsical Is that part of not doing evil?
Aral Balkan
@michaelgemar @hannu_ikonen @leahabshaffer @mimsical “‘Evil,’ says Google CEO Eric Schmidt, ‘is what Sergey says is evil.’”
https://www.wired.com/2003/01/google-10/
(By the way, Google removed “don’t be evil” from its code of conduct in 2018. https://gizmodo.com/google-removes-nearly-all-mentions-of-dont-be-evil-from-1826153393)
Aral Balkan
@filipesm @leahabshaffer @mimsical No, the only thing they’ve been threatened with is the fear of losing out and appearing technologically ignorant and irrelevant, the promise of “jobs”, and the allure of revolving doors.
Google’s lobbying office is literally around the corner from the European Parliament. Their (and Microsoft’s, etc.) lobbyists are the folks the MEPs drink with at the pubs down the road.
Filipe
@aral @leahabshaffer @mimsical I sometimes wonder if EU MPs or the commissioners have literally been threatened (or their families) by "lobbyists".
Sometimes I think the only way for any of this to keep going is if enough people get to power with somewhat good intentions but then fear for their physical safety, idk
Aral Balkan
@filipesm Those terms are far too wide to be meaningful in my experience. I prefer to form my opinions after I’ve met people in person and/or seen their actions.
Filipe
@aral sounds right 😞
What do you think of Green MEPs and The Left MEPs, same? :(
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