Trump’s ban, cat memes and razor blades

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Last week both Facebook and Twitter banned Donald Trump from their platforms. I’ve read tens of people outraged by this novel display of political power from private organisations.

I agree with whoever says that tech platforms have political power. Arguably, the algorithms in the hands of Facebook, Twitter or Youtube can shape our political landscape more than lawmakers can.

However, I question whether tech giants’ CEOs actually care about it.

You can accurately understand tech companies with a simple rule of thumb: follow the money.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube can all be used as a political tool, but at their core they’re money-making ad shops fuelled by data and algorithm. Does Facebook make money from riots? Nope. They make money from the razor blade ad they’ve placed in your feed between a Trump meme and a CNN article.

That’s what they care about: that you engage with lots of content, so they can sprinkle a few paid ads here and there. Do they care if that content is a racist tweet or a cat meme? Of course not, but please click on that razor blade ad and buy it.

My bet is that social media platforms would gladly swap political content for cat memes if that would give them the same engagement (aka money). Cat memes would spare them from lots of trouble, and they’d keep selling ads without having to show up in a suit in Washington from time to time.

The problem is that, unfortunately, millions of people really like to engage with (often extremist) political content. Algorithmic-fueled extremism is the side effect of the combination of an engagement-driven business model, troubled times and human nature.

Unlike Pharmaceutical companies, Tech companies are not required to take care of the side effects of the tools (aka drugs) they produce. Yet.

Trump’s ban is probably going to be the final push to impose regulations on them too, and I’d question whether that’s inherently a bad thing. The pharmaceutical industry is heavily regulated, and last time I checked Pharma companies were still filthy rich.

Tech companies probably can’t avoid regulation. What they care about is to be regulated in a way that doesn’t touch the business model that’s made them outrageously rich. And that’s in the hand of politicians, most likely the ones ruling the US in the next 4 years.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have them as friends?

While tech CEOs have been saying that their organisations are politically neutral, money says a different story.

Tech companies all figure in the Center for Responsive Politic’s table for Biden’s top donors (the money came from the organizations’ PACs; their individual members, employees or owners). Facebook is linked to $1,570,600 in Biden’s donations. Google to $4,364,277, Amazon to $2,225,070, Apple to $1,766,724.

Tech giants seem to know which horse to bet on. Silencing its rival is the icing on the cake.

I feel a bit sorry for Donald, to be honest. He must feel so lonely and cheated on with all these tech dudes turning their back on him. Especially considering they could have done it countless times in the past (remember the nuclear threats?), but they waited for him to loose power, and spent $100M in Facebook ads for his campaign.

Donald, if you’re reading this, don’t take it personally. Tech bros don’t have anything against you. They just want to sell some ads, and keep doing that undisturbed, you know?

Originally published at https://blog.gianlucamauro.com on January 15, 2021.