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ambridge Analytica. Russian hackers and election meddling. The
Equifax data breach. Fake news. Twitter and Instagram harassment.
Facebook mining our personal data and—best-case scenario—
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What’s a society to do? Ours has begun clamoring for boycotts, for regulation,
and even for breaking up the biggest tech giants. For a decade (or two), the tech
industry, led by the largest, most successful companies, has painted attempts to
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“technology will solve everything” system these benevolent founders seek to
build. Maybe that’s true, but considering the aforementioned abuses, the “Don’t
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having its moment.
Presidential candidates have made trust-busting a part of their platforms.
Europe and California have instituted legislation designed to allow citizens
greater control over their personal data and how it’s used. Other states are
following suit, buoyed by bipartisan support. It feels like major tech regulation
is coming, but whether it’s a culmination of decades of regulatory decisions or
just a step on the path is unclear.
‘FREE’ ISN’T FREE
You probably know some of the basics of how internet advertising targets its
viewers. Sometimes, ads might seem a little too relevant, leading you to wonder
whether your phone is listening to your conversations. You feel uneasy about
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something completely uninteresting to you. From the advertisers’ perspective,
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see their ads rather than waste time and money putting ads in front of people
who don’t need or care about what’s being sold. The companies that do this can
even track whether a user who has seen a particular ad then visits the store
that’s being promoted.
We’ve settled into a “freemium” model: In exchange for our data, we get to use
free services, including email and social media. This is how companies such as
Facebook make money and still provide us with the services we enjoy (although
research has shown that spending more time on Facebook makes you less
happy, rather than more).
