SOCIAL SCIENCES

Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy

by Jonathan Taplin
Little, Brown. Apr. 2017. 320p. illus. notes. index. ISBN 9780316275774. $29; ebk. ISBN 9780316275743. ECON
COPY ISBN
Taplin's (director emeritus, Univ. of Southern California Annenberg Innovation Lab) prose is like a web search: he pulls in multiple topics, uses frequent citations, and fires ideas at lightning speed. In the end, readers understand how this swirl of ideas, facts, and mistruths describe Facebook, Google, and Amazon as anarcho-libertarian economic monopolies. Lawless digital companies steal, hoard, and sell popular culture. Online monopolies rob artists, writers, and musicians of payment and sell information that online users unwittingly provide for free. Libertarian robber barons such as PayPal founder Peter Thiel, Larry Page of Google, and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, worship unregulated online and real-world markets, and fiercely fight any attempt at democratic control. The dream of an Internet of ideas has morphed into an intrusive and spectacularly profitable market for those who possess digital content.
VERDICT This fast-paced dissection of the inner workings of the Internet will fascinate anyone using it—and make them want to drop off the grid.
Reviewed by Duncan Stewart, Univ. of Iowa Libs., Iowa City , May 15, 2017
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

NONFICTION

The Church of Stop Shopping and Religious Activism: Combatting Consumerism and Climate Change Through Performance
by González, George
NONFICTION

Not My Type: Automating Sexual Racism in Online Dating
by Williams, Apryl
NONFICTION

When We Sold God’s Eye: Diamonds, Murder, and a Clash of Worlds in the Amazon
by Cuadros, Alex
NONFICTION

Blood and Lightning: On Becoming a Tattooer
by Kiskaddon, Dustin
REFERENCE

The Transgender Encyclopedia
by Pickett, Brent L.
NONFICTION

Southern by the Grace of God: Religion, Race, and Civil Rights in Hollywood’s American South
by Hunt, Megan
More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?