Hi Team, just a quick follow-up on our message. We got SO eager to take on Big Tech last week, that we sent you the message below a few days too early. Sorry about that!

But we hope it prompted you to think over the weekend about the growing and seemingly limitless power that large technology companies are amassing these days – and how a contribution to Accountable Tech today is a very valuable investment as a counterweight to that power.

GIVE TODAY

We’re still about $1,756 away from our fundraising goal – so we hope you can pitch in today and help fuel the ambitious set of campaigns we’re planning for next year.

Thanks in advance for your support,

– Nicole

[original message below]

Good morning,

As you’re browsing all the shopping specials today on “Cyber Monday,” we hope you’ll take a minute to consider the virtually unlimited – and growing – power that Big Tech companies have come to wield in all of our lives.

Information is control – and when a small handful of corporate interests come to dominate the information space, they then have the power to erode the very definition of our shared reality. While the internet overall can be a wonderful place for learning, connecting and sharing, Big Tech has a very different agenda – one that’s fueled by addiction, exploitation, and corporate greed.

And their unregulated growth, consolidation, invasions of our privacy, and relentless profit-seeking algorithms come with huge costs to our well-being, our society, and our democracy.

Accountable Tech is fighting back and working to keep the power of Big Tech in check – and for a group our size, we’ve won some very impressive victories in recent months. But, we count on donations from supporters like you to run our campaigns.

Can you pitch in $25, $50 or $100 today to support our work and fight back against Big Tech?

DONATE TODAY

We ask for your support now, because 2024 is shaping up to be a critical year for our campaigns. We’ve identified three major program areas that – with your help – we plan to focus on next year.

With major elections in more than 50 countries, disinformation and extremism are sure to be on the rise - so we’ll be calling out social media platforms if they fail to implement basic safeguards to protect our democracy, and with our coalition partners, we’ll be pushing for social media companies to adopt our Democracy by Design principles to counter election manipulation and enhance systemic resilience against threats to our democracies.

With platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok hijacking our kids’ and teens’ brains and manipulating their behavior and attention spans to pad already-fat corporate profit margins, we’re going to build off of our successful work in passing California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code into other states – and elevate youth voices like to highlight their experience, expertise and vision, force these companies to design their products with kids’ safety in mind. When we emphasize kids' safety over company profit, we can transform the way they collect, share, and use data about our kids.

With artificial intelligence (AI) technologies growing explosively, we’re going to continue exposing the harms of AI – especially when it comes to worker exploitation and surveillance – and work with policymakers to craft effective regulatory frameworks toward ethical and responsible AI before this nascent technology grows to the point where it’s ungovernable.

These aren’t going to be easy fights; we’re up against an industry with vast financial resources and armies of lobbyists working to shape governmental policies to benefit corporations instead of the public. But based on our recent successes, we’re confident we can take on Big Tech – and win.

Your grassroots donations are the fuel that powers our campaigns – and if everyone reading this message chipped in just $10 to support our work, we’ll be one step closer to a safer, more equitable internet that works for all of us. So we hope you’ll make a donation today.

YES, I'LL CHIP IN

Our sincere thanks for anything you can contribute today – and for fighting with us shoulder-to-shoulder as we work to keep Big Tech in check.

All the best,

Nicole Gill
Co-founder and Executive Director
Accountable Tech

P.S. We know you’re getting lots of appeals these days from candidates and causes. But the core values of our work emphasize privacy and transparency – so please rest assured that Accountable Tech will never give your email address to any other organization without your permission.