Podcast: What's *hasn't* worked -- part 2 of Protecting Democracy (and us!) from Big Tech

If Big Tech is "Too Big to Sue" -- tech firms can do whatever the Hell they want without fear of legal repercussions -- how do we fix that? Haven't we tried already?

Today Duke University released part two of our docu-podcast, "Defending Democracy (and us) from Big Tech."   This episode, called "What *hasn't* worked?" dives deep into strategies we've already tried to balance out the incredible power and influence that gigantic Silicon Valley companies have. We zoom in on the Facebook Oversight Board, the "Real" Facebook Oversight Board, and the Federal Trade Commission.

Mark Zuckerberg envisioned something kind of like a Supreme Court for Facebook when he announced creation of the Oversight Board.  Its founding documents are indeed ambitious and thorough.  You've probably heard of it -- it upheld the ban on Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection.  Duke law student Alexys Ogorek spent months learning the inner workings of the board and gave it a fair shake. There are things to learn from this experiment in -- self-regulation? self-governing? Ultimately, you'll see, the Oversight Board whiffs at what it's supposed to be, which is an independent body where people who feel they've been mistreated by the company can appeal.  \

And that's why I spent a lot of time talking with Kyle Taylor, a member of the "Real" Facebook Oversight Board. It's an outside formed in advance of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, designed to keep the social media giant accountable from the outside.  That hasn't gone very well, either. The podcast begins with Taylor explaining the acrimonious relationship the organization has with Facebook. OK, acrimonious is probably too generous. It's downright sophomoric.

"It's sort of unreal ... spokespeople from within Facebook would comment on things or say things like, you know, don't quit your day job, or couldn't you find something better to do things like of that nature," he told me. "We just said something extremely serious about hate speech and ... conspiracy theories and your response is, 'Don't quit your day job?' "

Then we talk to a couple of FTC lawyers to better understand why the agency that most closely fits the job description of "tech regulator" hasn't put much of a dent in the power Silicon Valley wields.

I spent a couple of months working on this project, so I hope you'll give it a listen. Click the play button below or visit the Ways and Means podcast page to learn more. The podcast is supported by Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy and the Kenan Institute for Ethics.

Listen to "What Hasn't Worked" at Apple Podcasts