It’s not too late

‘ARE we building the world we want?’ Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire chief executive of Facebook, asked last week in a 5 700-word post that was quickly dubbed a “manifesto”. He used it to launch a strident defence of globalisation and to set out his vision for the role he believes Facebook should play in creating a better world.

Facebook’s stunning reach extends beyond that which any other company has ever had. A quarter of the world’s population – 1.86 billion people – have Facebook accounts. Facebook shapes the way they consume, process and interact with information, and with each other. It got there by pursuing aggressive growth strategies. Facebook’s monopoly-style power extends far beyond people’s internet access. Together with Google, it has cannibalised the online advertising revenue so vital to enabling the investigative journalism that has never been more important in today’s world. Zuckerberg barely acknowledges Facebook’s role in the accelerating demise of the traditional media, and offers nothing beyond inane platitudes.

By filtering information, Facebook also changes the way we think. Its algorithms – whose design is motivated by profit – function as editors, pushing us to content that we are most likely to find engaging, from people we are naturally drawn to.

Facebook’s success is prophetic of a future in which we may all have to rely on a few all-powerful companies benevolently gifting us scraps like grants for struggling media organisations, or a meagre basic income to supplement poverty wages. But consumers and citizens still have the power to demand something different, and the laws of our lands still have the power to enforce it. We should act while we can.