The New York Times article “Google’s Backpedaling Shows Why It’s Hard Not to Be Evil” argues that famous tech companies disregard consumer demand and specific governmental regulations. The author, Greg Bensinger, suggests that Big Tech corporations are willing to engage in unethical behavior that compromises their reputation and the customers’ rights for privacy.
Big Tech companies such as Google do not respect such notions as privacy. Customers are being tracked even if they opt for remaining anonymous. The author highlights how the company stores personal data without any consent, and the terms and conditions that the corporation imposes on the users are often too complicated for the general consumer to fully comprehend. Bensinger provides examples such as Facebook and Amazon. He argues that Facebook’s beliefs are built on the concept that it is acceptable to go against the customer’s will if their views do not correspond with the company’s. Moreover, Amazon was found to go against users’ privacy when customers learned that humans listen to their Alexa devices.
The author refers to evidence that Big Tech corporations lack basic ethical guidelines and suggests the implementation of stricter regulations for the offenders.