The dark side of the internet revolution

Book review: Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google, And Amazon Cornered Culture And Undermined DemocracyTaplin makes an effective argument to rein in the oligarchic dreams of a few billionaires.

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The internet was supposed to smash monopolies and democratise business. The reality is very different, says academic, writer and film producer Jonathan Taplin in a new analysis of the dark side of the digital revolution. This "bracing, unromantic account" of "how the internet was captured" argues that major internet firms such as Amazon, Facebook and Google are "enormously powerful corporations that move fast and break things, while minimising their tax bills and shirking the responsibilities that come with their media power", says John Naughton in The Guardian.

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"Many elements of Taplin's case are familiar," says Nick Romeo in The Chicago Tribune: "Facebook's covert experiments in manipulating the emotions of hundreds of thousands of users, Amazon's atrocious treatment of workers at its distribution centres and Google's cavalier disregard for copyright laws" have been "well documented".

However, Taplin goes beyond familiar critiques in making an effective argument that "without changes to legislation, corporate behaviour and consumer values, the oligarchic dreams of a few billionaires could reshape the country even more than they already have".

Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

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