The Information Trade: How Big Tech Conquers Countries, Challenges Our Rights, and Transforms Our World

by Alexis Wichowski

In this timely, provocative, and ultimately hopeful book, a widely respected government and tech expert reveals how Facebook, Google, Amazon, Tesla, and other tech giants are disrupting the way the world works, and outlines the growing risk they pose to our future if we do not act to contain them.

Today’s major technology companies—Google, Facebook, Amazon, Tesla, and others—wield more power than national governments. Because of their rising influence, Alexis Wichowski, a former press official for the State Department during the Obama administration, has re-branded these major tech companies “net states.”

In this comprehensive, engaging, and prescriptive book, she considers their growing and unavoidable influence in our lives, showing in eye-opening detail how these net states are conquering countries, disrupting reality, and jeopardizing our future—and what we can do to regulate and reform the industry before it does irreparable harm to the way we think, how we act, and how we’re governed. Combining original reporting and insights drawn from more than 100 interviews with technology and government insiders, including Microsoft president Brad Smith, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the former Federal Trade Commission chair under President Obama, the co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology , and the managing director of Jigsaw—Google’s Department of Counterterrorism against extremis and cyber-attacks—The Information Trade explores what happens when we cede our power to them, willingly trading our personal freedom and individual autonomy for an easy, plugged-in existence.

Neither an industry apologist or fearmonger, Wichowski reminds us that we are not helpless victims; we still control our relationship with the technologies and the companies behind them. Most important, she shows us how we can curtail and control net states in practical, actionable ways—and makes urgently clear what’s at stake if we don’t.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology, Audiobook, Business, Science, Politics

304 pages, Hardcover

First published February 11, 2020

Reviews

[David Wineberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

The United States has spawned some monstrously gigantic tech firms in its effort to promote the growth of the internet. On Wall St., they are called FAANG – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google. Alexis Wichowski has added Microsoft and Tesla, and called them net-states in her book The Information Trade. What she does with this designation is sinful.

The basic conceit here is that tech giants are states themselves. Not nation states with borders and armies, but internet-based states that transcend borders and have their own rules that they apply for themselves, for their own benefit. They are layered over the rest of civilization in their own orbit, blanketing the Earth electronically. Wichowski wants readers to think they are beyond our control, never going away, and that being super-states, need to be appeased. Oddly, she never once uses the word globalization, which goes a very long way to describing what these net states have achieved for themselves without the aggravation of multilateral agreements or even permission.

Most of the book is a superficial, standard exposition of stats and status: big numbers of users, big social problems they create, legal limbos and dangerous results, like a fivefold increase in pedestrian deaths thanks to tech distractions. There are lots of interesting facts throughout, such as how many IQ points people lose when multitasking, or the word counts in the Terms of Service of the major net state websites. There is a chapter on the extent of surveillance, and one on the internet of things. How Atlanta paid millions to Microsoft to restore its computers rather than pay $51,000 to lift a ransomware attack. This goes on for nearly 200 pages without breaking any new ground or providing any insights not also found in countless places all over the internet and in other books.

Wichowski does not make much of anything with all the data she has hoovered up. Worse, she is sloppy with it: “The median American household income in 2016 was $57,617. Income varies significantly by state, of course, but that was the nationwide average,” she says. Median is very different from average, so which is it? It makes a difference. (Average income is outlandishly high in the USA because of extreme inequality. Median is the single family in the very center of the list). This is appallingly sloppy and makes me think she is out her depth.

Then suddenly, in a remarkable switch, Wichowski proposes total surrender. Rather than reign in the net states and make them conform to our norms, fine them or break them up, she proposes giving them state recognition. She wants to create a United Nations of net states, where they can sort out how to take over the world. She also proposes a kind of Geneva Convention for net state users, so that humans have some minimal set of rights globally.

This is just shy of unconditional surrender. Far from taxing and regulating the net states, she seems to say countries are in a position of abject weakness and must try to settle for something small, or lose it all. This is a very strange position to advocate.

She recommends rules that permit users to prevent net states from selling their personal data – providing users pay say five dollars month for life. An extra $60 billion a year would be attractive to any global firm. In exchange, users get to keep uploading content for free, to be used at will by the net state. Sound good? Users would also have the right to delete their own uploads, but the subsequent comments, harassment and abuse would remain, property of the net state. This is Finland suing for peace with Stalin, knowing it has not a leg to stand on.

The book ends weakly as Wichowski openly becomes an apologist for net states, which are apparently busy weeding out haters, frauds and terrorists, protecting democracy, and protecting user data all over the world. We really must keep them happy.

David Wineberg

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

A well written, informative book about how big tech is taking over and trampling the rights of the citizenry by acting almost like nations themselves.

Like many books on this sort of topic, it's already a bit out of date.

[Iván · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un interesante libro sobre las empresas tecnológicas y su compleja relación con los usuarios y los gobiernos. Cita a las grandes empresas como Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft y Tesla, corporaciones enormes a las que define como "net states" , una contrapartida a los "estados-nación". Me ha gustado, ayuda a entender la nueva realidad del
mundo. Seguiré a la autora, una experta en temas tecnológicos, profesora en Columbia y escritora en medios como TechCrunch, Wired, Foreign Affairs o The Atlantic.

[Liam Fullem · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true eye opener. I knew that big tech companies collect data on us but I did not know that they are trying to tap into are most basic of needs. The theme is we should not wait until this data collecting thing gets out of hand, we strike now and make new laws that protect us from big tech companies spying on us.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wichowski is an apologist for the unlimited power of the King and he does that through fear mongering. The book is devoid of reason, unless you consider fallacies a form of reason, and mostly pure emotion. And Wichowski is right, the book radiates academic bureaucrat, hence his entire life is built on King's mercy and generosity, why not support the King in a technique called "I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine".

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whatever the opposite of investigative journalism is, this is it. PR piece? Maybe the author is angling for a job. The writing itself is also grating, with tons of cliched phrases and padding and complete lack of structure - just one continuous stream of babble.

[Fatima Sarder · Rating 3 out of 5]

“To know a man, look only to his friends. To know a king, look only to whom he employs. “The wise man,” it concludes, “is exceedingly careful about the company he keeps”
― Alexis Wichowski (Chinese proverb)

I often wondered how companies such as Facebook and Google make money while still being a 'free' service. Turns out, the data we put in while creating an account for every 'free' service, is worth millions, billions to information brokers.

Written well enough with insights to how this private data is collected from the users. Tech giants are so big, the author refers to them as digital-countries (net states). Net states do everything in their interest (for profit) and operate via a hacker-ethic code which leaves everything on the internet mostly free.

The end of the book unfortunately falls flat. The author suggests ways on how a citizen-user (people using internet services) can protect their privacy and data by basically rolling over to the tech giants and giving them a monthly subscription fee so they can protect our privacy... Yeah, not happening.

[Budd Margolis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief review: Big digital companies "NET STATES" from Facebook, Apple, Amazon,. Google, Netflix and Tesla control far too much private data which falls outside of proper regulation (except for California and EU) and this unregulated control of our private data is used to manipulate and profit from without our, "NET CITIZENS" knowledge or control. Net States are and will work with Net Nations in the future and there are many issues to consider.

We need a global digital bill of rights or Geneva Convention that spells out and protects our rights.
There is an Extremely valuable, timely, well researched, documented and commented upon.

[Divyesh Sheth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thought provoking book on what are the responsibilities of "net states" which is a name coined by author for the big tech. platform companies. Author works through several aspects of how data is collected and used and who is responsible for safeguarding the data and usage of the platforms. Several thorny issues need to be resolved as these platform span multiple national boundaries and legal jurisdictions are not clear. Also the competency of "net states" and how the society can leverage them along with nation state laws to effectively govern the data sharing/usage/collection/deletion process and use of this data.

[Lindy Han · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts provide enlightening content, like how platforms collect data on our activities on other platforms too, as long as we leave it running in the background. There are also some parts about the author's suggestions on proposed ways to guard our privacy which I am not much interested in, so skipped over.

[Emanuele Gemelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting perspective outlined by the Author; I do not necessarily concur with some reviews where it is mentioned that the Author is too apologetic w.r.t. The 'net-nations'. Actually, I find the book a good balance between the plus and delta of the current situation

[Stefan Persson · Rating 1 out of 5]

what an atrocious piece of shit....jumping from one isolated event to another...weather in vermont to project loon to tesla cars to sharks in the sea.....try figuring out if you have something to write about before start writing rather doing some kind of running commentary on random IT events!

[Gabe Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, insightful, and timely.

[Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant insight into worlds populated in ungoverned netherworlds.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Loved it. A fascinating and scary look at the tech giants and their influence on all our lives.

[Vignesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good book

[ChristopherBell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you thought you knew explained and then some. If you put this down and still believe you have privacy you didn’t read it closely.

[Debora Baird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book. Everyone should read it and then talk about it.

[Pavan Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out our Books in 5 review of The Information Trade

[Marcus Tay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative rather than inspiring.

[Candice Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every tech user should read this book. Would love to read a post pandemic version!

[Paulina Kąt · Rating 3 out of 5]

We sold our privacy for convenience

[fish_fin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the majority of the book—the author presents a balanced perspective on the benefits and risks associated with big tech companies, backing her arguments with numerous examples. However, the final 20 percent of the book was less convincing. The author introduces a series of proposed policies to regulate big tech, but fails to thoroughly justify or analyze her recommendations, making this section feel rushed and underdeveloped.