Welcome to the first iteration of the Big Tech Stack, Accountable Tech’s newsletter. We’ll give you the TL;DR (“too long, didn’t read”) on the latest news in Big Tech with our hot takes.

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States eye bans on ‘surveillance pricing’ that exploits personal data

TL;DR: Democratic lawmakers want to keep corporations from using our shopping needs and habits against us through surveillance pricing – a system that would change the price of goods based on our data.

AT’s Hot Take: We already deal with this type of surveillance through things like Uber surge pricing or buying airline tickets. The idea that a corporation could change the price for every single item we buy based on our data – including info like our finances – for their financial gain is a grave overstep into our privacy and deeply unfair for consumers.

What to know about TikTok’s uncertain future in the US and the people who want to buy it

TL;DR: During his first term, Trump wanted to ban TikTok unless it was sold to a US company. Congress passed the ban under Biden. Trump extended the timeline for the ban to go into effect, which is now set for April 5 – unless a US company buys a key stake of the platform. It’s unclear who will ultimately win out, but reports have cited Oracle as a front-runner.

AT’s Hot Take: A corporation like Oracle buying out TikTok is just another example of a Big Tech firm taking over our digital communications channels and consolidating their power. It feels unlikely that a sale like this will ensure our data is protected from bad actors.

Zuckerberg’s Meta considered sharing user data with China, whistleblower alleges

TL;DR: According to former Facebook employee Sarah Wynn-Williams, Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, now Meta, was willing to do whatever it took for China to allow his platform in the country. That included sharing people’s data with the Chinese government, creating an entire censorship program, evading questions from Congress, and more.

AT’s Hot Take: Zuckerberg really doesn’t want you to read Wynn-Williams’ book. But other than some spicy interpersonal drama, most of this info isn’t new. In fact, we’ve been shouting about Meta and Zuckerberg’s relationships with authoritarians to fuel corporate greed for years. We’re glad this is finally getting the attention it deserves.

image: American flag on a flagpole in front of a white columned building

DOGE’s Plans to Replace Humans With AI Are Already Under Way

TL;DR: Elon Musk’s DOGE has been firing federal employees left and right (even doing so illegally) with the goal of employing AI to take over people’s roles. Now, an AI chatbot is being rolled out for government use.

AT’s Hot Take: Elon wants to run the government like one of his corporations, and it’s costing us our rights and our jobs. We’ve already seen the way the government is deploying AI to surveil and deport foreign students based on their social media activity. This tech is untested and is unregulated, and is now being tasked to take over sensitive government data and tasks? Major yikes. If we can't trust AI to give reliable answers on simple things and we already know the harm it's being used for, why would we accelerate its use further in our government?

That’s all for this installment of the Big Tech Stack. If you liked what you saw, consider donating to keep this in your inbox. Thanks for your support in holding Big Tech accountable.