“Powerful internet platforms, driven by a ruthless commercial logic, have caused tremendous harm in the United States and around the world. With technological sophistication and crystal-clear writing, Terms of Disservice provides the analytical tools necessary to understand the structural roots of this crisis and the policies we need to confront it. Anyone who thinks democracy is worth saving should read this compelling book.”
—Victor Pickard, professor, University of Pennsylvania; author of Democracy Without Journalism? Confronting the Misinformation Society
“Ghosh’s deep knowledge of the way digital companies undermine our cognition, agency, and democracy is scary but required reading. Thankfully, his deep faith in the ability of government and civil society to develop a new social contract makes this a hopeful and actionable proposal.”
—Douglas Rushkoff, professor of media theory and digital economics, Queens College; author of Team Human
“Terms of Disservice addresses the big picture of social media—both its place in our national economy and its corrosive effect on the individual. Ghosh concludes with a proposal for a social contract that preserves the strengths of social media while respecting the autonomy of the individual. The result is a roadmap for policymakers—we can only hope that they pay attention.”
—Stephen B. Wicker, professor, Cornell University; author of Cellular Convergence and the Death of Privacy
TERMS OF DISSERVICE
How Silicon Valley Is Destructive by Design
DIPAYAN GHOSH
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION PRESS
Washington, D.C.
Copyright © 2020
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Brookings Institution Press.
The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to research, education, and publication on important issues of domestic and foreign policy. Its principal purpose is to bring the highest quality independent research and analysis to bear on current and emerging policy problems. Interpretations or conclusions in Brookings publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ghosh, Dipayan, author.
Title: Terms of disservice : how Silicon Valley is destructive by design / Dipayan Ghosh.
Description: Washington, D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019048652 (print) | LCCN 2019048653 (ebook) | ISBN 9780815737650 (cloth) | ISBN 9780815737667 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Information technology—Social aspects. | Information technology—Political aspects. | Information technology—Moral and ethical aspects. | Internet industry—Social aspects. | Social responsibility of business. | Information society.
Classification: LCC HM851 .G474 2020 (print) | LCC HM851 (ebook) | DDC 303.48/33—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019048652
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019048653
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Typeset in Whitman
Composition by Elliott Beard
For my grandparents
Contents
JOHN PODESTA
Data, Algorithms, and Platform Growth
The Harvesting of All Knowledge
Capitalism Consuming the World
Acknowledgments
This book is the culmination of a progression in thought I have made over the past decade. It’s been a journey through which I’ve gained the privileges of becoming both independent and knowledgeable about the tensions between commerce and consumers that have become so central to the digital economy. That progression is one that has been propelled by countless friends, who along the way have taught me new things and helped me see things in new ways. I am indebted to all of you.
Terms of Disservice came to be because of my tireless and benevolent editor, Bill Finan. He gave me an incredible opportunity. Handing an author a limitless pen with complete intellectual independence is not easy. I owe Bill profuse gratitude for seeing a glimmer of something in my arguments and affording me the chance to share my perspective. The Brookings Institution Press team has been truly generous in making this happen. I owe endless thanks to Cecilia González for her sharp edits, Elliott Beard for his imaginative artwork, and Robert Wicks and Steven Roman for their incredible support.
My perspectives on technology have been heavily influenced by countless friends and colleagues. I owe deep gratitude to my colleagues from the Obama years. R. David Edelman, my most influential mentor from that period,