Mulan has generated controversy due to its lead actor's support of Hong Kong police and Disney’s crediting of CCP government agencies. The saga has demonstrated that the "one company, two systems" mentality for operating in China just doesn't work.
Category: Politics
Politics and policy-making have strong implications for corporate strategy and technology.
The Golden Age of Speech
Last week, the publication of an open letter in Harper’s Magazine caused a bit of a stir. In it, the authors contended that, while there has been a necessary reckoning on racial and social justice, it has arrived in concert with the intensification of moral attitudes and ideological conformity. The letter’s signatories, which include writers … Continue reading The Golden Age of Speech
Carbon, Climate Change, and Coronavirus
A common refrain from netizens during the COVID-19 crisis has been that the environment is benefiting from the sudden lack of human activity. Not only are swans and dolphins coming back to the canals of Venice, but emissions of carbon dioxide have been falling in China at a meteoric pace. The dramatic reduction in vehicle … Continue reading Carbon, Climate Change, and Coronavirus
Monitoring Viruses
In the early hours of March 15th, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department’s servers were hit with a flood of malicious traffic designed to slow or shut them down. The distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack came as the country battles the coronavirus outbreak, one of several factors that led the agency to take … Continue reading Monitoring Viruses
The Greatest Firewall
2019 was a substandard year for digital rights in China. TikTok, a popular Chinese-owned social networking and video-sharing service, instructed moderators to censor videos that brought up “sensitive” topics like Tiananmen Square or Tibetan independence. Gamers noted on Reddit several months ago that League of Legends, a popular multiplayer online game, prohibited its users from … Continue reading The Greatest Firewall
Tech Absolutism and Political Advertising
Last month, Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey announced the company would ban political advertising across the entire platform. He listed several reasons for the policy, including how political ads are detrimental to organic reach, can create risks in the voting process, and are purveyors of false or misleading information. The policy, which comes into force today, … Continue reading Tech Absolutism and Political Advertising
The OTA, Anti-Intellectualism, and Congressional Lobbying
In the 2018 Congressional hearings of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) illustrated a lack of expertise around digital business models when he asked how Facebook could sustain a business in which users don’t pay for their service. After being told that the social media platform is essentially supported by ads, Hatch was … Continue reading The OTA, Anti-Intellectualism, and Congressional Lobbying
A Framework for Digital Taxation
One of the policies in contention at the G7 summit in France last month had little to do with climate change, finance, or disease eradication. In a renewed effort to placate the U.S. (and to avoid potential tariffs), French President Emmanuel Macron announced that a digital tax on revenues put into effect earlier this year … Continue reading A Framework for Digital Taxation