Deconstructing Meta’s Large Scale Attention Factory

04/09/2025 28 min
Deconstructing Meta’s Large Scale Attention Factory

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Episode Synopsis

What happens when a tech giant becomes a media monopoly? As Meta faces scrutiny over its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, hosts Zuzana Ľudviková and Max Schulze explore Meta's ongoing antitrust trial with the US Federal Trade Commission and examine Meta's identity and inner workings – as a media conglomerate and a large-scale attention factory fueled by users' free labor of watching and scrolling.Without proper regulations, the digital media marketplace risks becoming an unregulated Wild West where user interests take a backseat to corporate greed, influencing policymaking in both the United States and Europe.How can we develop effective regulation that does not stifle innovation but ensures that technology truly serves democratic societies?Tune in as software engineer and policy expert Max Schulze outlines a digital media landscape that prioritizes user rights and equitable practices. Through effective policymaking, there is a way for technology to first and foremost generate positive change – then profit.Paradigms is a newly launched podcast produced by Leitmotiv – an independent think tank focused on operationalizing values in our digital future.Spotify: https://ltmv.io/spotifyYouTube: https://ltmv.io/ytHosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.