Tech Giants, Once Seen as Saviors, Are Now Viewed as Threats
American tech companies positioned themselves as entities that brought positive change by connecting people and spreading information. Perceptions are shifting.
SAN FRANCISCO - At the start of this decade, the Arab Spring blossomed with the help of social media. That is the sort of story the tech in- dustry loves to tell about itself: It is bringing freedom, enlight- enment and a better future for all mankind.
Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder, proclaimed that this was exactly why his social network existed. In a 2012 manifesto for investors, he said Facebook was a tool to create "a more honest and transparent dialogue around government." The result, he said, would be "better solutions to some of the biggest problems of our time."