Should BigTech be collectivized on the premise that it infringes upon the right to self-determination?

Although BigTech companies have offered us tremendous benefits and opportunities for further progress, it has become clear that when building something so great - both in terms of size and power -, things are bound to get messy. An illustrative example of this is the BigTech titan Facebook, which impacts our social, economic and political lives in an unprecedented way, for better or for worse, leading some to believe that its actions are infringing upon our fundamental right to self-determination. Bearing this in mind, a collective action lawsuit was initiated to force legal recognition of Facebook as a public domain that should be under ownership and control of its users. The lawsuit will be submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in 2021.

In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I discussed the ‘Collectivize Facebook’ initiative with its initiators, Jonas Staal (artist) and Jan Fermon (lawyer).

Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!