Social media gave the powerless a weapon but it was wrenched away by firms such as Facebook and Cambridge AnalyticaI blame the T-shirts. The casual wear favoured by those founding wunderkinds of tech – effect Zuckerberg,Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin, or Larry Page and the rest – lulled us into a spurious sense of security. Even after they’d begun making serious money,too many of us took the aversion to a collar and tie to mean the likes of Facebook or Google were not really scary capitalist behemoths, but retained the spirit of the upstart startup: quirky, or plucky and driven chiefly by a desire to attain frosty stuff with computers. They certainly saw themselves that way,Google charmingly distilling its mission statement into three words: “Don’t be evil.” It’s amazing how long an initial image of laidback informality can endure: for decades, Britons struggled to see Virgin as a corporate giant because Richard Branson had long hair and a goatee. Related: We’re taking on Cambridge Analytica in a legal fight for data rights | Ravi Naik Related: Delete Facebook? Thats as hard as giving up sugar | Dean Burnett Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com