While many are calling for regulation of Facebook and other social media platforms, getting there might be unrealistic, said David Kirkpatrick, author of "The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That is Connecting the World.”
“The problem is, this is a company that operates in over 190 countries, in probably 90 to 100 languages. And governments themselves are abusing it in many of those countries, so who do you allow to regulate it?” Kirkpatrick explained in an interview with Cheddar Friday.
“The other thing is...exactly how you’d interface with these moment-to-moment decisions, many of them being made by algorithms. That’s just something that hasn’t been invented yet.”
Last week, news broke that data company Cambridge Analytica harvested information on 50 million Americans off Facebook and sold it to President Trump’s campaign team during the 2016 election.
Ever since, Facebook has been in the hot seat for allowing this kind of breach on its platform and not being transparent about this problem, which it reportedly learned about years ago.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg finally broke his silence on Wednesday after days of silence, saying -- among other things -- that the company would be open to government oversight.
While Zuckerberg’s statement and public appearance may have been a step in the right direction, it did not do enough to quell user concern, said Kirkpatrick.
For a CEO, “you don’t wait five days to come out when you have a crisis.”
“They really don’t get it even now,” said Kirkpatrick. “I honestly think that Facebook is embarrassing the entire tech sector.”
Kirkpatrick said that much of the company’s overall tone deaf approach to the crisis is derived from an arrogance that runs through the company.
“They just think they’re better than everybody else,” he said. “They’re more successful than anybody else, they think that they are doing better for the world than anybody else, and they’re definitely richer than anybody else.
“And what that leads them to conclude is that the rest of us just don’t get it...That is the way they think inside Facebook, and it’s really causing them to make a series of very wrong strategic decisions about how to handle this crisis.”
Facebook shares were down nearly 14 percent this week, their biggest drop since July 2012.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/future-of-facebook).
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
Hear from Gabino & Stephen Roche on Saphyre’s institutional AI platform that centralizes pre‑ and post‑trade data, redefining settlement speed and accuracy.
