CDA 230, Frankenstein, Oppenheimer and the Social Dilemma
If you have seen just a fraction of my LinkedIn posts, you would know that I have been raising concerns for years about Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit and other social networking sites and the need to ensure that they are held legally accountable for how their platforms operate. As I always point out, my concern is the conduct of the online platforms and not about “First Amendment” protected speech.
There is nothing more gratifying then when someone is able to capture your concerns in a concise and powerful way, espeically through the medium of film. Mary Mazzio did that with her documentary, I AM JANE DOE, which was the impetus for the introduction and ultimate enactment of FOSTA/SESTA, the first time Section 230 was amended. There is now another documentary on Netflix that I believe will do the same. It is called, THE SOCIAL DILEMMA. It highlights through interviews with Silicon Valley insiders how companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking companies have manipulated users without their knowledge and how their conduct and business models has led to the social engineering of its users for profit.
These multi-billion dollar corporations are the Dr. Frankensteins and Robert Oppenheimers of the digital age. But unlike Robert Oppenheimer who worked the rest of his life to stop the proliferation of the type of weapon of mass distruction that he helped create, the tech apologists, along with their Silicon Valley benefactors, continue to advocate for the status quo, no matter how destructive their creations have become. They argue that those of us who want a more safe, secure and sustainable Internet for all are “anti-tech,” “against free speech,” “want to break the Internet,” or “harm small businesses.” But just as Dr. Frankenstein and Robert Oppenheimer goals were to make the world a better and safer place, the Social Dilemma documentary shows how greed and money have overtaken Silicon Valley’s utopian vision, and because of the liability protections of Section 230, they are able with impunity to lead us into a dystopian world. To use a reference from another great dystopian movie the Matrix, the Social Dilemma is the “red pill” we all need to take before it is too late.?