“It’s important to understand that while libertarian philosophy may have been regarded as a fringe movement in American politics, epitomized by Ron Paul followers, it has become the mainstream economic philosophy for both Silicon Valley and the Republican Party, thanks… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share Image
“The privacy issue was reignited in early 2014, when the Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook had conducted a massive social-science experiment on nearly seven hundred thousand of its users. To determine whether it could alter the emotional state of its users and prompt them to post either more positive or negative content, the site’s data scientists enabled an algorithm,… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share
“If Facebook becomes my primary source of news, with the ability to filter what I see, then the civic square will no longer exist.… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share Image
“The stunning thing about a zero-marginal-cost digital distribution system is that we forget that it could allow artists to run a nonprofit distribution cooperative and keep a far higher percentage of their revenues than they do now. YouTube takes 45 percent of the ad revenue on its site simply for running the infrastructure, without putting up production or marketing money.… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share
“Huxley’s assertion was that technology would lead to passivity. The ease with which we could consume mind-numbing entertainments and distractions would ultimately rot our… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share Image
“The first question that needs to be asked is why we are so willing to surrender our labor and our personal data for free… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share Image
“The effect of Amazon’s monopsony in the book business is to constantly force authors and publishers to work for less money. In Bork’s view,… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share Image
“Those seeking political and economic change should consider embracing art. Part of our role as citizens is to look more closely at the media… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share Image
“Contrary to what techno-determinists want us to believe, inequality is not the inevitable by-product of technology and globalization or even the lopsided distribution of… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share Image
“Dear Alexis, Last week at our debate, I talked about the essential unfairness that my friend and colleague Levon Helm had to continue to tour at the age of 70 with throat cancer in order to pay his medical bills. On Thursday, Levon died and I am filled with unbelievable sadness. I am sad not just for Levon’s wife and… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share
“the fact that his businesses were built on copyright theft (Napster) and deep consumer surveillance (Facebook) leads us to question what exactly these attention harvesting industries create and whether they’re aiding the larger culture or destroying it. Disruption of critical cultural infrastructure is only worthy if the replacement is more beneficial to the society at large than the original institution… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share
“So assuming one could argue that Google is a monopoly and needs to enter into a consent decree, would the Bell Labs model work? If Google were required to license every patent it owns for a nominal fee to any American company that asks for it, it would have to license its search algorithms, Android patents, self-driving car patents, smart-thermostat… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share
“Between the passage of the ITFA and 2015, Amazon essentially managed to wipe out the local bookstore and, to some extent, the local record… — Jonathan Taplin Copy Share Image
