Understanding the costs of “free” Internet services Tech veteran discusses the ways mega-companies change things for better and worse
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echnology companies wield incredible power to shape the world, and people need to understand the positives and negatives associated with that, a tech industry veteran says. For decades, technology firms were largely seen by society as a saviour of everything. But people now realize that “big tech is not always positive,” Jeremy Showalter said in a seminar at MEDA’s annual convention in Tucson, Arizona. Showalter worked with Microsoft for more than 13 years in a variety of roles in several countries. Until the end of November, he was responsible for global non-profit engagement in Microsoft PhilanthroJeremy Showalter pies’ Tech for Social personal privacy are front and center. Impact group. “If you are not paying for a prodTechlash, a term coined by The uct, you are the product,” Showalter Economist magazine, was the word of the year in 2018, he said. Techlash said. “Your data is the price.” “People were so willing to take is a growing revolt against the power something for free, not understanding of technology giants by governments the long-term implications of that.” and individuals. The European Union’s General The business models used by Facebook, Google and others are now Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the strictest privacy protection law being questioned. Questions around The Marketplace January February 2020
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in the world. It requires firms who operate in the EU to honor people’s request to be forgotten. Microsoft took the principled stance of applying that regulation to all of its customers worldwide, he said. “You own your data, full stop. Microsoft has been very clear on that.” Microsoft supports regulation related to privacy rights. But Showalter predicts challenges to people’s privacy from other players is “going to get worse before it gets better.’’ “Until they (big tech firms) see that it’s existential to their business that they need to do that, they won’t do it (protect your data).” Tech firms have a responsibility to tell the truth, he said when asked about Facebook founder Marc Zuckerburg’s testimony to the US Congress. Facebook, the social network created by Zuckerburg, has refused to ensure that ads posted by politicians and others are truthful. “Ethically, yes, there is a responsibility (to tell the truth),” Showalter said. “If they don’t take that path, I think (the future of) their business is
