💡 The big tech perception problem

How will Facebook and their ilk tackle their PR issues?

This essay was written before the decision by Facebook to stop carrying news in Australia in pre-emptive response to a law that would have forced them to pay arbitrary sums to news providers in Australia whose content was posted on the network. For discussion of those issues, there are recommendations below. I haven’t had a chance to fully digest this. 

Big tech has a PR problem. That’s nothing new but when you dig into the details, the gravity of the challenges confound our attempts to find solutions. Google’s flare-up with the Australian government this month is the latest event kickstarting fresh debate about big tech’s PR mishaps. If you haven’t been following, the Australian government is crafting legislation that will essentially force Google (and presumably other platforms like Facebook) to pay for the news content they host. Google responded to the lawmakers with threats that the company will simply leave the country if the laws are passed. In a remarkably condescending video, …