Is Facebook the Next Big Tobacco?

No stranger to controversy, Facebook is both revered and reviled for its unprecedented global reach that influences billions of people across the world. But at what cost? Unsuspecting consumers are giving away tons of personal information under the guise of social connection, when in reality Facebook is accumulating data to manipulate their behaviors and interests, keeping users addicted to a product they can’t live without. Like Big Tobacco--a similarly unregulated industry that made smoking an addictive lifestyle for consumers that ultimately turned into a national health crisis with fatal results--is Facebook a danger to users and society at large by using data in ways that do more harm than good? The more than 1,100 advertisers and dozens of A-list celebrities who joined the #StopHateForProfit campaign calling on Facebook to stop the spread of hate and misinformation seems to think so. Jeff Goodby, Co-Chairman and Partner, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and Jim Steyer, CEO & Founder, Common Sense Media, and best-selling author of the forthcoming book Which Side of History: How Technology Is Reshaping Democracy And Our Lives, sit down for a one-on-one discussion to explore the role that Big Tech is playing in undermining our democracy, its impact on kids, and what can be done to hold them accountable.