Big Tech and the Future of Democracy

Technology platforms have become ubiquitous in our lives, effectively public utilities despite being run by private corporations. For years, Google operated on an ethos of "Don't be evil" before quietly retiring the phrase from their code of conduct. More and more questions are being asked about how these businesses are run and their overarching impact on our lives, as well as the access they have to our information. Facebook has been the subject of numerous inquiries of late regarding its internal leaks about conduct. This week, Rana Foroohar, global business columnist and associate editor at the Financial Times and global economic analyst for CNN joins Roy Green, emeritus professor at UTS for a wide-ranging conversation about big tech, its expansive reach and whether a big state can reign in these platforms. This is an edited conversation taken from the UTS Vice Chancellor's Democracy Forum 2021.