If Social Media Companies Don’t Behave, Shut Them Down
For my first ever page I am pleased to present for your consideration this article that cites an ex-facebook advisor testifying before the Canadian House of Commons privacy and ethics committee.
Speaking to the House of Commons privacy and ethics committee Tuesday, Roger McNamee, a venture capitalist who mentored Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, said the time has come to “call their bluffs” and force social media giants to make changes to their business practices.
“If your goals are to protect democracy and personal liberty, you have to be bold. You have to force a radical transformation of the business models of internet platforms” McNamee said.
“At the end of the day, the most effective path to reform would be to shut the platforms down at least temporarily… any country can go first.”
Each citizen in a democracy has the responsibility to uphold it, but this concept does not apply to businesses.
“The people at Facebook and Google are not evil,” he said. “They are products of an American business culture with few rules, where misbehaviour seldom results in punishment.”
Zuckerberg and Sandberg’s failure to attend the meeting could result in the executives being held in contempt of parliament. However, it’s not clear what consequences that might have.
I sincerely wish there were severe consequences.