About Don’t Be Evil
Winner of the Porchlight Business Book of the Year for 2019
“Rana Foroohar’s urgent message, “Yes, we really are living in the Matrix,” and it’s time to rise up and resist our algorithmic overlords. This books shows us how.”
– Cathy O’Neil, author of Weapons of Math Destruction and CEO of ORCAA.
From acclaimed Financial Times columnist and CNN analyst, a penetrating indictment of how today’s biggest tech companies are hijacking our data, our livelihoods, and our minds.
“Don’t be evil” was enshrined as Google’s corporate mantra back in its early days, when the company’s cheerful logo still conveyed the idealistic spirit of the enterprise, and industry as a whole. Unfortunately, it’s been quite a while since Google, or the majority of the Big Tech companies, lived up to this founding philosophy.
And yet that quaint slogan—which has since been quietly but deliberately abandoned by Google leadership—reminds us that giants like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple weren't always the cash-printing corporate leviathans they have become today. In fact, they were born out of a starry-eyed vision for a utopian future in which technology would inevitably make the world better, safer, and more prosperous, one in which the internet would be a grand connective force, uniting us in one global village while leveling the playing field for all.
How long ago that all seems. Because in the span of the past two decades, writes FT columnist Rana Foroohar, Big Tech lost its way—and its soul. Through her skilled reporting and unparalleled access—won through nearly 30 years covering business and technology—Foroohar tells the story of how giddy idealism turned to greed, how a world where “information wants to be free” became one in which we are the product being monetized, how the geeks tinkering with motherboards in their basements grew to be arrogant billionaires monopolizing the lion‘s share of the economy, and how the “democratized” internet we were promised can threaten the very fabric of our democracy.
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More praise for Don’t Be Evil
“Rana Foroohar is a beacon of insight in the world of financial journalism. In “Don’t Be Evil,” she applies her brilliance to the increasingly nightmarish behavior of tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Facebook. It is a must read.”
—Roger McNamee, author of Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe
“Rana Foroohar is a savvy and wise commentator and a keen observer of the global economy. This book goes beyond the economic problems of market distortion and monopoly power and examines the broader implications for society of the untrammeled and under regulated Silicon Valley companies. She demonstrates that while the creed ‘don’t be evil ‘ may have initially inspired the Silicon Valley giants, its principle has long been left behind.
—Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics
“Rana Foroohar’s “Don’t Be Evil” is the first book on the big tech crisis to propose a set of realistic solutions. This book should be read by every policy maker both in the U.S. and around the world. As she makes clear, the self regulation of BigTech is not an option and she proposes real world solutions that could make a big difference.”
—Jonathan Taplin, Director Emeritus, USC Annenberg Innovation Lab
At first sight, “Don't Be Evil” looks like doing for Google what muckraking journalist Ida Tarbell did for Standard Oil over a century ago. But this whip-smart, highly readable book's scope turns out to be much broader. Worried about the monopolistic tendencies of big tech? The addictive apps on your iPhone? The role Facebook played in Donald Trump's election? Foroohar will leave you even more worried, but a lot better informed.”
—Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow, the Hoover Institution, Stanford, and author of The Square and the Tower.
“When we choose technology's convenience without considering its tradeoffs, we ceded control to a muscular, unregulated strain of capitalism that is now costing us far more than we thought. Don't Be Evil comes just in time, with a warning citizens, policy makers, and the tech industry itself can no longer afford to ignore.”
– John Battelle, co-founder of Wired and author of The Search
“The single best history of how our tech overlords rose to power, and the single best warning of the dangers they pose to our democracy, liberties, and families. Rana accomplishes that most difficult of writing tasks, as she takes a fantastically complicated subject and makes it easy to understand and fun to read. A brilliant, witty, and elegant guide to every piece of the problem, from the technologies and business models to the political, social, and psychological effects of the tech revolution. Best of all, Rana tells us how to fix the problem, using smart and simple tools already at hand.”
—Barry Lynn, founder and director, Open Markets Institute
“Giant tech companies are an ungoverned global economic and social force that we all must understand. They contribute to division and threaten the “very cohesion of society.” Foroohar’s big picture thinking is much needed. This compelling and deeply-informed book will help guide our responses to a dangerous new era.”
—David Kirkpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect