KEITH NEGLEY/THEISPOT.COM SPRING 2020 MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW 71ambridge Analytica has become a household name, synon-
ymous with invasion of privacy. Its controversial entanglement
with Facebook was a wake-up call about how we share infor-
mation online. Of course, Cambridge Analytica is gone now,
and Mark Zuckerberg has survived so far. But the fallout for
Facebook feels never-ending: the initial stock drop, the con-
gressional testimony, a record-breaking $5 billion fine from
the Federal Trade Commission, a class-action suit approved
by a federal judge,^1 and another uncomfortable grilling in
Congress.
The Facebook scandal is a cautionary tale for executives and consumers alike. But the
lesson is much bigger than one about so-called fake news. The hasty reconstruction of
value chains around new technologies is introducing and exacerbating ethical concerns
across industries. It’s a free-for-all race as companies compete to impress users with new
capabilities, and what’s at stake isn’t just which ones survive but whether we are able to
sustain a civilized society or end up in a high-tech Wild West.A Crisis of Ethics in
Technology Innovation
As businesses work to delight consumers, they must also protect the public trust.
BY MAX WESSEL AND NICOLE HELMERDISRUPTION 2020: DOING BUSINESS WITH INTEGRITY