Tech’s insincere transparency

The New York Times

Facebook, Twitter, and Google love to extol the virtues of transparency, said Jim Rutenberg. Our willingness to share, after all, is what has made them rich. All three companies “thrive by mining the private information of the billions of people who use them,” cheerfully soaking up our likes, dislikes, and surfing habits to make billions in advertising revenue. “But the companies are grudging at best when it comes to being open about themselves.” Ten months after the 2016 campaign ended, Mark Zuckerberg finally admitted that Facebook permitted a Kremlin-aligned outfit to purchase ads—in rubles, no less—designed to “divide the country and tilt the

presidential election.” He dutifully promised more “transparency” in response. Google, too, promised “transparency” after outraged corporations discovered their ads had been placed alongside extremist videos on YouTube. And Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey this week said he wished he’d been “more transparent” in explaining why actress Rose McGowan had her account deactivated when she accused entertainment executives of covering up allegations of sexual harassment. Promising transparency while remaining “tight-lipped” has been these firms’ go-to response whenever they’re confronted with difficult facts. But more people are beginning “to see right through it.”