DeepSummary
The episode discusses the practice of 'jawboning,' where government officials pressure tech platforms to bend to their will, often behind the scenes. Matt Perault, a former Facebook employee, shares his experience of being frequently 'jawboned' by both Republican and Democratic officials, as well as foreign governments, during his time at the company.
Perault explains that while educational communication between the government and tech companies is generally positive, the line between persuasion and coercion can become blurred. He cites examples of government officials pressuring Facebook to ban certain advertising tools or remove specific content, often accompanied by implicit threats of potential consequences if the company didn't comply.
Perault argues that while some level of dialogue between the government and tech companies is beneficial, jawboning can circumvent democratic processes and First Amendment protections. He suggests that public decision-making and transparent processes are essential to ensure accountability and public debate on these issues.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The practice of 'jawboning,' where government officials pressure tech companies behind the scenes, raises concerns about circumventing democratic processes and free speech protections.
- Former Facebook employee Matt Perault experienced frequent 'jawboning' from both Republican and Democratic officials, as well as foreign governments, during his time at the company.
- While educational communication between the government and tech companies can be positive, the line between persuasion and coercion can become blurred in the case of jawboning.
- Jawboning often targets lower-level employees at tech companies, creating acute pressure and making it challenging for them to resist government demands.
- Perault argues that public decision-making and transparent processes are essential to ensure accountability and public debate on issues related to tech regulation.
- While acknowledging the potential benefits of some level of dialogue between the government and tech companies, Perault argues that jawboning can undermine democratic processes and First Amendment protections.
- The episode raises concerns about the potential for government overreach and censorship through the use of jawboning tactics on tech platforms.
- Perault suggests that the government should use transparent and democratic processes, such as legislation or regulatory rulemaking, to address issues related to tech companies, rather than relying on behind-the-scenes pressure.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “The challenge, I think, about jawboning is that it is outside of public view. It's in the darkness. And it's when government officials are leaning on people who work at tech platforms, often not the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world, but people who are further down the rungs of the public policy team who see their job as trying to do good work with government officials.“ by Matt Perrall
- “And pressure in those circumstances can really be acute and challenging.“ by Matt Perrall
- “The question in jawboning is when does government coercion and government threats, when does that end up circumventing the protections of the First Amendment?“ by Matt Perrall
- “Government can use the legislative process, or they can use regulatory rulemaking, or they can initiate cases. And those are all transparent processes that are democratic channels in the sunlight that people can see and react to.“ by Matt Perrall
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Episode Information
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Marketplace
3/28/24
It’s something government officials on both sides of the aisle are known to do: pressuring tech platforms to bend to their will, aka jawboning. But the line between persuasion and coercion, or even censorship, can get murky.
Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments from two states alleging that the Joe Biden administration illegally coerced social media companies into blocking conservative content. Matt Perault, now with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Center on Technology Policy, says that in his former job working in policy at Facebook, jawboning happened all the time.