“Despite repeated promises to its billions of users worldwide that they could control how their personal information is shared, Facebook undermined consumers’ choices.”
… said Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joe Simons. As a result, in 2019, the FTC fined Facebook $5 billion dollars for privacy violations and the failure to inform users about data leaks. Issues reported range from the spread of fake news, exploitation by foreign governments, to improperly securing personal data.
In the aftermath, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook would make “major structural changes” to how it builds products and conducts business. That remains to be seen.
Contrast Zuckerberg’s leadership and Facebook’s past actions with the recent statements (published in the Fortune March 2020 issue, see below for full article) made by Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, relative to Microsoft, big tech and ethical leadership.
Nadella describes “digital technology” as either a tool or a weapon:
As a tool, high-tech can be a facilitator of growth and development.
As a weapon, high-tech developments can foster “unintended consequences”, not the least of which is violating the right to privacy that Nadella thinks should be considered a human right.
Nadella points out that another “unintended consequence” is cyberattacks, which he believes is costing the world economy a trillion dollars.
Unlike Facebook’s “move fast a break things” mission, Nadella recognizes that high-tech industries need to take more responsibility to ensure that progress is defined in terms of “solutions,” not problems for society.
It’s obvious to me that Nadella thinks about “trust” and “obligations” of high-tech companies… a breath of fresh air.
Facebook’s past is full of breaking things; Microsoft seems to have adopted the approach to fix things. Now that’s a contrast I like… because it helps prove my point:
Ethical leadership is doing the right thing for all stakeholders.
Ethical leadership is fixing things, not breaking things.
If you want to hear more about Ethical (and Unethical) Leadership – join us at the 2020 Fraud Vision CPE retreat in Denver, CO, August 12 & 13th!
