Book contents
- Technology and the Public Interest
- Technology and the Public Interest
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 The Human Right to Technology
- 2 The Collective Right to Technology
- 3 The Fundamental Right to Technology
- 4 The Irresponsibility of Technology Companies
- 5 Fundamental Corporate Responsibility
- 6 Patent Responsibility
- Acknowledgments
- Index
4 - The Irresponsibility of Technology Companies
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 April 2022
- Technology and the Public Interest
- Technology and the Public Interest
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 The Human Right to Technology
- 2 The Collective Right to Technology
- 3 The Fundamental Right to Technology
- 4 The Irresponsibility of Technology Companies
- 5 Fundamental Corporate Responsibility
- 6 Patent Responsibility
- Acknowledgments
- Index
Summary
The responsibilities that technology companies have assumed are completely inadequate compared to the power they have gained. Facebook is a textbook example. It achieved unparalleled success among technology companies, attracting 2.3 billion users in just fifteen years following its inception in 2004.1 It has also abused the trust of those users,2 secretly selling private user data to Cambridge Analytica in the biggest privacy scandal in social network history, and allowing its platform to become a vehicle for the fake news that likely swayed the 2016 presidential election in the United States. A judge has even gone so far as to describe Facebook as “a tool for evil” in a judicial ruling.3 Whistleblowers and journalistic investigation support this allegation, providing hard evidence that Facebook has prioritized profit over the well-being of its users and society.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Technology and the Public Interest , pp. 104 - 120Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022