Tech Panic, Robby Soave
Tech Panic, Robby Soave
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Tech Panic
Why We Shouldn't Fear Facebook and the Future

Author: Robby Soave

Narrator: Kirby Heyborne

Unabridged: 8 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/28/2021


Synopsis

From award-winning journalist and author of the “methodical, earnest, and insightful” (The Guardian) Panic Attack, an examination of recent kneejerk calls to regulate Big Tech from both sides of the aisle.

Not so long ago, we embraced social media as a life-changing opportunity to connect with friends and family all across the globe. Today, the pendulum of public opinion is swinging in the opposite direction as Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and similar sites are being accused of corrupting our democracy, spreading disinformation, and fanning the flames of hatred. We once marveled at the revolutionary convenience of ordering items online and having them show up on our doorsteps overnight. Now we fret about Amazon outsourcing our jobs overseas or building robots to do them for us.

With insightful analysis and in-depth research, Robby Soave offers “a refreshing dose of sanity and common sense about big tech” (David French, author of Divided We Fall) and explores some of the biggest issues animating both the right and the left: bias, censorship, disinformation, privacy, screen addiction, crime, and more. Far from polemical, Tech Panic is grounded in interviews with insiders at companies like Facebook and Twitter, as well as expert analysis by both tech boosters and skeptics—from Mark Zuckerberg to Josh Hawley. You will learn not just about the consequences of Big Tech, but also the consequences of altering the ecosystem that allowed tech to get big. Offering a fresh and crucial perspective on one of the biggest influences of the 21st century, Soave seeks to stand athwart history and yell, Wait, are we sure we really want to do this?

About Robby Soave

Robby Soave is an award-winning journalist and author. He is a senior editor at the libertarian magazine Reason, where he writes about free speech, education and tech policy, criminal justice reform, and cancel culture, among other subjects. His work has also appeared in The New York TimesThe Daily BeastUS News & World Report, and more. In 2016, Forbes named him to the “30 Under 30” list in the category of law and policy. In 2017, he became a Novak Fellow at The Fund for American Studies. He also serves on the DC Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights. Soave appears frequently on TV and radio.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Daniel on March 25, 2022

Is big tech the source of all evil? Soave argued it’s not. 1. Section 230: it absolves the platform from being responsible for comments posted. Without this protection we won’t be able to use our phone at all. Imagine every comment have to be vetted, including WhatsApp messages (since it can be broa......more

Goodreads review by Chris on October 23, 2021

This is by far one of the most important books of 2021 or even the last decade when it comes to the conversation around social media and technology. As a millennial who grew up as the internet and social media exploded, I’ve felt like a crazy person seeing all of the fear about technology and these......more

Goodreads review by Jason on February 16, 2025

This book proves the case for me of reading outside your thought space. While I disagree with Soave on some of his conclusions, I agree on much more than I expected. He makes excellent arguments against government regulation of social media companies, particularly US-based companies. Ultimately issu......more

Goodreads review by Stetson on October 06, 2021

Robby Soave, a journalist and editor at the libertarian magazine Reason, has developed a reputation for doing thorough investigative reporting into free speech issues. media malpractice, cancel culture, hate crime hoaxes, and related stories. Soave is now translating his journalistic talents into bo......more

Goodreads review by Somit on June 17, 2022

From Robby Soave, award-winning journalist and author of the “methodical, earnest, and insightful” (The Guardian) Panic Attack, an examination of recent kneejerk calls to regulate Big Tech. While this what Google Books tell you, I felt the book was using facts to show only one side of the story and l......more