Ways & Means

Large technology companies are so powerful they now threaten democracy. They are too big to sue, and current regulations are not holding them responsible for their actions or outcomes. What can be done when a large tech company is doing something that is harmful to society? How can the technology companies that want to differentiate themselves demonstrate they are behaving responsibly? Well – this isn’t the first time the U.S. has been faced with a large, runaway industry that needed effective government oversight. We’ll look closely at the governance frameworks that are used for big banks, environmental polluters, drug companies to allow them to demonstrate responsible decision making. This episode is the third of a three-part series, Defending Democracy (and Us!) from Big Tech, a collaboration between Ways & Means and the Debugger podcast. The series is produced with support from the Cyber Policy Program at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics.