Tech world controversies of 2014 (and what we learned from them)

WASHINGTON — It was a year of controversy, missteps and interesting debates in the tech world. Here are some of the biggest tech controversies that tech companies faced in 2014 — and what we can learn from them.

Uber

Car-sharing service Uber got caught up in a controversy of its own making when BuzzFeed reported that a company executive remarked that Uber could use information it collected to conduct opposition research on pesky journalists who annoy them — in other words, that the service could tap into the vast amount of trip data that it collects from the service and use it against its customers.

The uproar that ensued stirred up more questions about Uber practices, including the re-airing of a story that Uber employees even displayed user location information at a party. In fact, many employees apparently had access to this “God View,” the internal name for the real-time view of who was taking rides, and when and where. After a round of apologies and some time, the story died down, but the PR disaster was one that seriously bruised Uber’s reputation.

Lesson learned: For consumers, the lesson here is to be a bit more wary about who you trust; or at least not to be surprised when a company uses the data you give it. For Uber, the lesson should be that there is an upper limit to the level of cockiness that people will tolerate — even if they really like your product. Or, to paraphrase my colleague Brian Fung, that there is a difference between being disruptive and being a jerk.

Microsoft

In an interview with Harvey Mudd College President Maria Klawe, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said that women should have “faith that the system” will reward them, rather than asking their bosses for raises and promotions explicitly. His comments were immediately challenged by Klawe, who politely told Nadella — while still on-stage at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing — that she disagreed with him on that point.

But the criticism didn’t stop there. Nadella’s comments soon spread across the Web, drawing ire from women in all professions — but particularly in tech — who pointed out that it’s often hard for women to get ahead exactly because they are told not to be too pushy when looking to move up in the workplace. Nadella, who had been showered with good press since his ascension to the top spot at Microsoft, found himself in the first major controversy of his time as CEO.

Lesson learned: This taught us an old lesson: the words that come from the mouths of leaders matter. Nadella apologized within a day for his remarks, saying that he was “completely wrong” and that women should absolutely speak up when they feel they aren’t getting equal pay for equal work. “When it comes to career advice on getting a raise when you think it’s deserved, Maria’s advice was the right advice,” Nadella wrote. “If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask.”

Google

Google found itself at the center of a case in Europe this year over the so-called “right to be forgotten” — that is, the right to have the links of websites that embarrass you scrubbed from search engines. The case was brought by a Spanish physician who found references to a debt he’d paid still came up prominently in searches for his name — damaging his reputation. Europe’s highest court found in his favor, and ordered search engines — most prominently Google, which argued heavily against the censorship — to begin taking requests for link removal.

But while the idea may have saved some people deep embarrassment, it also kicked up a serious discussion of whether it was really right to be able to go in and edit one’s past like that. The controversy got even more complicated when the requests started flowing in, requiring Google to pass judgment on the validity of the requests. Is it right to scrub online evidence of bad reviews? What about the past behavior of a politician who’s looking to jump back into the game? Even with guidelines issued earlier this month that say search engines must balance “relevant rights and interests” when evaluating requests, it still is a very tricky role for Google to play.

Lesson learned: We’ve certainly all come to believe that what happens on the Internet will always be there — some sort of permanent digital record from which there is no hiding. What’s interesting about what Google (and others) faced in this instance is that it’s clear there is now some backlash against that idea — a development that itself spawns more questions about whether it’s possible to regulate the Web without hampering its free-flowing nature. That larger debate will only grow more prominent as more countries around the world look to pass laws regulating the online world.

Apple

Apple made a lot of news this year, what with the introduction of its new iPhone models — and the mini-controversy that followed when they seemed kind of bendy. But the biggest dust-up the company faced this year came after it appeared that the iCloud accounts of several celebrities had been broken into and looted by hackers, who obtained compromising pictures of several female Hollywood stars. The theft prompted several people, including hack victim Jennifer Lawrence, to call for stronger privacy laws.

It also turned an uncomfortable spotlight on Apple. The company has long enjoyed a reputation for good security, but found itself facing pointed questions over whether the security measures it had for individual accounts were strong enough to stand up to hacking attacks.

Lesson learned: Apple demonstrated it had learned a lesson in a very clear way; it introduced some new security measures, such as more expanded, two-factor authentication, that are aimed at making it harder to hijack iCloud accounts. It also called attention to how little consumers understand the services they use everyday, including iCloud, and how information they put in the cloud can be stored. While companies should look at the hack as an impetus to provide better options to their users, consumers should also be spurred to improve their own security measures.

Facebook

Overall, Facebook had a banner year. In February, the company dropped a cool $19 billion to buy the messaging service Whats-App., then spent $2 billion on Oculus VR, the virtual reality headset company; perhaps an anecdote to the teen flight the company’s seen over the past few years. And it seems to be the only major tech company that’s managed to figure out how to make money off of mobile advertising.

But, of course, it’s also had its share of missteps, which mostly deal with fallout from the way it handles user data. Just last week, Facebook ended up apologizing for its “Year in Review” feature, which showed off the most popular posts of the past 12 months — in some cases, those weren’t welcome memories. That controversy capped off a year of some rough sailing for the social network in terms of how it dealt with users. A summer dustup arose over news that Facebook manipulated users’ newsfeeds to measure the effect that the changes had on their moods. Users were also infuriated that Facebook added features that let people inquire about a user’s relationship status.

Lesson learned: There’s little doubt Facebook knows how to profit off the personal information and preferences on its social network. Now, the company has to show users that it can navigate the line between spinning that information into something useful or seeming exploitative. This isn’t a quick, or even complete lesson for the company — it’s a dance that Facebook is likely to keep struggling with for years to come.

Twitter

Twitter was at the center of a long debate this year over how companies should deal with online harassment, as a series of events pointed out just how horrible the digital abuse can be. From harassment of the daughter of late comedian Robin Williams, Zelda Williams, to the digital barbs and outright threats traded during the “Gamergate” controversy, there was a lot of attention paid to the social media site and its role in facing threats — and policing civility — online.

It’s a tough role for Twitter, which has branded itself as a staunch defender of the freedom of expression. Even people who say reprehensible things do have a right to speak their minds, and Twitter has said repeatedly that it’s not interested in judging what its users say online — unless things get really ugly and there’s an actual threat.

Lesson learned: Twitter has taken some steps to address online harassment while also promising that there are more to come. Changes include allowing other people to report harassment and making the reporting process easier. But many users — particularly feminist activists and anti-bullying groups — say there’s a lot of work ahead for the company. Meanwhile, those being harassed online should look to those calls and remember that they’re not alone — even if it sometimes feel like there’s no way to get the abuse to stop.

Amazon

Amazon.com and the Hachette Book Group had been fighting for months over how the profits from electronic copies of books should be split. The dispute caused Amazon to delay the shipment of Hachette books on its site and pulled in high-profile authors including Stephen King, who criticized the tech company’s tactics and said that it had too much power over the book market. Meanwhile, a group of largely independent authors defended Amazon and the way they said it has revolutionized the publishing industry.

Amazon and Hachette resolved their differences after several months, announcing in November that they’d reached a “multi-year” agreement, in which Hachette would be allowed to set the prices for e-books. Authors said they were “relieved” to hear that the spat had been resolved — especially since their book sales were the ones being hurt the most by the disagreement.

(Disclosure: Amazon chief executive Jeffrey Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Lesson learned: Disruption is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but this is a clear example of how the old, pre-digital world is still grappling with a new era. Everything about the way we get books now is different, from distribution to the very format on which we read. And it’s not just books — nearly every form of entertainment, from books to music to film, now has a new normal. Expect to see more spats like this in the future.

Sony

Oh, Sony. You had a bad couple of months. After an unprecedented hack in November, Sony Pictures Entertainment was sent back to the age of pen-and-paper while also having to watch its dirty laundry aired in the media. Reporters combed through the thousands of internal documents, bringing wave upon wave of embarrassing internal feuds and backroom discussions to light. Meanwhile, the situation took a strange turn when the U.S. found that North Korea may have been behind the attack in retribution for a film — “The Interview” — that portrayed the assassination of the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

But, one could argue, the company came out on top after hitting the depths. Not only did small arthouse theaters that probably wouldn’t ever have carried a Seth Rogen film come to its rescue, so did big streaming companies such as Google and Microsoft. “The Interview” made $15 million from online sales in four days; 2 million watched or downloaded the film. Doing so became an almost political act; something that certainly wouldn’t have happened if the movie hadn’t been identified as the motivation for the hack.

Lesson learned: Corporations need to spend more time (and money) on cyber defenses, since anyone can become a target at any time. It’s also, yes, another reminder that there is always a record of the things you say online.