TechTank

This podcast is part of a three-part series on the various parts of a Tech New Deal, a proposal to center technology as part of our economic recovery efforts that includes infrastructure, workforce development, local investments in adoption and use, and national service.

In the days leading up to the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, social media platforms were flooded with hate speech and misinformation. Months before, there were also denouncements by former President Donald J. Trump about the proposed content moderation practices of private companies, as well as their use of Section 230 protections.

It took only days after armed mobs stormed the U.S. Capitol, for platforms like Facebook and Twitter to decide Trump’s tweets were more than just “saber rattling.”

Online dating apps like Tinder collect a large amount of personal information on their users. Tinder’s privacy policy clearly states your data may be used to deliver “targeted advertising.” Even a step beyond that, the policy says “you should not expect that your personal information, chats, or other communications will always remain secure.”

Your online data affects what job offers you have access to on LinkedIn, how much you pay for insuring your car, ads you will see on YouTube and if you can get approved for a loan.

In the coronavirus era, doctors visits have gone virtual—much like nearly every aspect of everyday life. So telehealth means a patient talks to their doctor right from the epicenter of their personal world. And those little things that make us human? They’re front and center.