Showing 1 - 8 of 8
How Big Tech controls user behaviour for profit
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato & Ilan Strauss, Published on 02/03/2024
» In a new lawsuit in the US against Meta, 41 states and the District of Columbia argue that two of the company's social-media products -- Instagram and Facebook -- are not just addictive but detrimental to children's well-being. Meta is accused of engaging in a "scheme to exploit young users for profit", including by showing harmful content that keeps them glued to their screens.
Disrupting the disruptors on the internet
Oped, Roger McNamee, Published on 09/12/2022
» After a decade of unconstrained growth -- when it seemed that a new billionaire was minted every day -- the tech industry has finally hit a rough patch. Elon Musk's erratic behaviour following his takeover of Twitter has left the financially leveraged platform in a precarious state. The crypto exchange FTX's sudden implosion has vaporised a business that was recently valued at US$32 billion (1.1 trillion baht), taking many other crypto firms with it. Meta (Facebook) is laying off 11,000 people, 13% of its workforce, and Amazon is shedding 10,000.
Killing Twitter in the name of free speech
Oped, Antara Haldar, Published on 03/12/2022
» In April 2022, the world's richest person, Elon Musk, asked, "Is Twitter dying?" Five days later, he launched an apparently whimsical bid to buy the social-media platform. It took months of legal wrangling to complete the deal, but on Oct 27, Mr Musk honoured his US$44 billion offer, acquiring a new toy: free speech.
Who are the beneficiaries of 'free speech'?
Oped, Peter Singer, Published on 10/11/2022
» How is it that a man who has banned 83 million people from Twitter can freely use the platform to post his messages denigrating women and supporting the brutal attack on the writer Salman Rushdie? I'm referring to the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose government is killing young women who want to be able to show their hair in public.
Don't break up social media, bifurcate it
Oped, Luigi Zingales, Published on 08/09/2021
» After being celebrated for playing a central role in the Arab Spring, social-media platforms are now blamed for any outcome that traditional media outlets dislike. Growing disenchantment with social media has led to growing demands for regulation.
The battle between Big Tech and the free press
Oped, Steven Hill, Published on 10/04/2021
» Worldwide, the free press is waging a battle for survival against Facebook and Google. Besides being gushing firehoses of Covid disinformation and QAnon conspiracies, Google and Facebook have been dangerously undermining the financial stability of media outlets all over the world.
Making tech giants responsible for user content
Oped, Steven Hill, Published on 28/01/2021
» Why do so many people, including both presidents Trump and Biden, keep talking about eliminating an obscure law called Section 230?
Gender stereotypes holding back tomorrow's science solutions
Oped, Audrey Azoulay and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Published on 11/02/2018
» Our future will be marked by scientific and technological progress, just like our past. That future progress will be the greatest when it draws on the full talent, creativity and ideas of women and girls in science. Most countries, industrialised or not, are far from achieving gender parity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects (Stem) at every level of the education system. That deficit feeds the employment gap. According to estimates by the Unesco Institute of Statistics, women currently represent less than 30% of the research and development workforce worldwide.