---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the fact that his businesses were built…"
description: "\"“the fact that his businesses were built on copyright theft (Napster) and deep consumer surveillance (Facebook) leads us to question what exactly these..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/jonathan-taplin-20430_business_the-fact-that-his-businesses-were-built_836749.jpg"
---

#  the fact that his businesses were built on copyright theft…

![“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…” quote by Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/jonathan-taplin-20430_business_the-fact-that-his-businesses-were-built_836749.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/jonathan-taplin-20430_business_the-fact-that-his-businesses-were-built_836749.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/jonathan-taplin-20430_business_the-fact-that-his-businesses-were-built_836749.jpg)

> ““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 was.””

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote questions whether industries that profit from piracy and surveillance truly benefit culture or harm it, urging scrutiny of their societal impact.

**In simple terms:** Questioning the cultural cost of attention‑driven businesses.

Key Takeaway

Critically assess digital platforms.

Themes

ethics technology culture

Mood

critical thought‑provoking

Type

analytical philosophical

When to use this quote

- media consumption
- policy making
- consumer awareness

Key Concepts

attention economy surveillance capitalism

Questions to Reflect On

- What responsibilities do platform owners have?
- Can regulation balance innovation and harm?

A Different Perspective

These models also provide valuable services; impact is complex.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Disruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disruption/)

## Related quotes

> [Disruption is a critical element of the evolution of technology - from the positive and negative aspects of disruption a typical pattern emerges, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-sinofsky/disruption-is-a-critical-element-of-the-evolution-of-technology-from/)

[Steven Sinofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-sinofsky/)

> [“This book is about fighting back. The dominant culture -civilization- is killing the planet, and it is long past time for those of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/this-book-is-about-fighting-back-the-dominant-culture-civilization-is/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [The mission of the press is to spread culture while destroying the attention span.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-mission-of-the-press-is-to-spread-culture-while-destroying-the/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [We've heard that the hookup culture is destroying us. We've heard that it's saving us. We've heard that it's racist. We've agonized over which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanna-rosin/we-ve-heard-that-the-hookup-culture-is-destroying-us-we-ve-heard-that/)

[Hanna Rosin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanna-rosin/)

> [“Root cause of inequality is the mass scale digital disruption advantage as means of wealth creation is concentrated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/root-cause-of-inequality-is-the-mass-scale-digital-disruption/)

[Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/)

> [Civilization is in no immediate danger of running out of energy or even just out of oil. But we are running out of environment-that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-v-vaitheeswaran/civilization-is-in-no-immediate-danger-of-running-out-of-energy-or/)

Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran

> [Change is inevitable, and the disruption it causes often brings both inconvenience and opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scoble/change-is-inevitable-and-the-disruption-it-causes-often-brings-both/)

[Robert Scoble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scoble/)

> [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“Relevance is both an antidote to avoid and a method for driving disruption.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spitz/relevance-is-both-an-antidote-to-avoid-and-a-method-for-driving/)

[Roger Spitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spitz/)

> [“Systemic disruption requires us to accept that there may be no measurable data to fully substantiate our understanding of those disruptions. Imaging and exploring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spitz/systemic-disruption-requires-us-to-accept-that-there-may-be-no/)

[Roger Spitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spitz/)

> [“The whole notion of disruption is adolescent: It assumes that after the teenagers make a mess, the adults will come and clean it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-whole-notion-of-disruption-is-adolescent-it-assumes-that-after/)

[Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/)

> [“The history of the sexual vanguard in America was a long list of people who had been ridiculed, imprisoned, or subjected to violence. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-witt/the-history-of-the-sexual-vanguard-in-america-was-a-long-list-of/)

Emily Witt

> [The concept of disruption is about competitive response; it is not a theory of growth. It's adjacent to growth. But it's not about growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-m-christensen/the-concept-of-disruption-is-about-competitive-response-it-is-not-a/)

[Clayton M. Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-m-christensen/)

> [ \[Buckminster\] Fuller was an independent operator coming up with these madcap ways of combining things with absolutely no strings attached and the fact that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/buckminster-fuller-was-an-independent-operator-coming-up-with-these/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [The online education space, especially in higher education, is ripe for disruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-screwvala/the-online-education-space-especially-in-higher-education-is-ripe-for/)

[Ronnie Screwvala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-screwvala/)

## More by Jonathan Taplin

> [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/the-privacy-issue-was-reignited-in-early-2014-when-the-wall-street/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“If Facebook becomes my primary source of news, with the ability to filter what I see, then the civic square will no longer exist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/if-facebook-becomes-my-primary-source-of-news-with-the-ability-to/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/the-stunning-thing-about-a-zero-marginal-cost-digital-distribution/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/huxley-s-assertion-was-that-technology-would-lead-to-passivity-the/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“The first question that needs to be asked is why we are so willing to surrender our labor and our personal data for free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/the-first-question-that-needs-to-be-asked-is-why-we-are-so-willing-to/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/the-effect-of-amazon-s-monopsony-in-the-book-business-is-to/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“Those seeking political and economic change should consider embracing art. Part of our role as citizens is to look more closely at the media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/those-seeking-political-and-economic-change-should-consider-embracing/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/contrary-to-what-techno-determinists-want-us-to-believe-inequality-is/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“Dear Alexis, Last week at our debate, I talked about the essential unfairness that my friend and colleague Levon Helm had to continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/dear-alexis-last-week-at-our-debate-i-talked-about-the-essential/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“So assuming one could argue that Google is a monopoly and needs to enter into a consent decree, would the Bell Labs model work?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/so-assuming-one-could-argue-that-google-is-a-monopoly-and-needs-to/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“Between the passage of the ITFA and 2015, Amazon essentially managed to wipe out the local bookstore and, to some extent, the local record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/between-the-passage-of-the-itfa-and-2015-amazon-essentially-managed/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“In this zero-marginal-cost economy, the only way to make money is to scrape consumer data from your users and sell it to advertisers. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/in-this-zero-marginal-cost-economy-the-only-way-to-make-money-is-to/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“If PBS shrank the number of stations and used the money from spectrum sales and government grants for programming, we would have a genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/if-pbs-shrank-the-number-of-stations-and-used-the-money-from-spectrum/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“Software is eating the world,” and soon the technologists will be coming for your job, too, just as they will continue to come for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/software-is-eating-the-world-and-soon-the-technologists-will-be/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

> [“The cultural critic Leon Wieseltier angrily noted, “The streets of American cities are haunted by the ghosts of bookstores and record stores, which have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/the-cultural-critic-leon-wieseltier-angrily-noted-the-streets-of/)

[Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

[Explore all 31 Jonathan Taplin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/)

## More Business quotes

> [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/)

[Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/)

> [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/)

[Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/)

> [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/)

[Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/)

> [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/)

[Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/)

> [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/)

[Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/)

[Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/)

> [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/)

[Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/)

> [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/)

[Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/)

> [I'm not into business at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/i-m-not-into-business-at-all/)

[Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/)

> [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

[Browse all 39,016 Business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“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 was.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jonathan Taplin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/the-fact-that-his-businesses-were-built-on-copyright-theft-napster/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Business"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/the-fact-that-his-businesses-were-built-on-copyright-theft-napster/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/jonathan-taplin-20430_business_the-fact-that-his-businesses-were-built_836749.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/jonathan-taplin-20430_business_the-fact-that-his-businesses-were-built_836749.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/jonathan-taplin-20430_business_the-fact-that-his-businesses-were-built_836749.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“the fact that his businesses were built on copyright theft (Napster) and deep consumer surveillance…” — Jonathan Taplin",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Jonathan Taplin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“the fact that his businesses were...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/the-fact-that-his-businesses-were-built-on-copyright-theft-napster/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/the-fact-that-his-businesses-were-built-on-copyright-theft-napster/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
