Silicon Valley’s Open Culture Era Comes to an End

The tech giants exported their open work cultures to the world. But now, after the Facebook leaks, the concept is headed to its grave.

Alex Kantrowitz
OneZero

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As Facebook’s employees watched their conversations and research flood the internet via Frances Haugen’s leak, they commiserated in an internal group called “Let’s Fix Facebook.” The company’s radically transparent internal culture, some said, had exposed Facebook to scandal. They asked whether “Be Open” should remain one of its foundational principles. Someone proposed an alternative: “Don’t Leak.”

Though Silicon Valley companies had been slowly backing away from the prized open cultures that made documents, calendars, and conversations available to their employees, Haugen’s leak effectively brought this era to an end. Google had already given up on its culture of radical openness. Amazon and Netflix recently fired employees whose voices they’d asked to hear. Apple, already a closed culture, just quashed an uprising of its own. Facebook was the lone holdout. But after Haugen canvassed its internal forums and leaked thousands of documents, the company…

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Responses (9)

What are your thoughts?

The company’s radically transparent internal culture, some said, had exposed Facebook to scandal.

No, their actions exposed them to scandal — the time honoured regret at being caught not about being bad.

I've been wondering about this once I saw Android getting modified more & more by Google hiding things inside Play Services & not putting changes in ASOP. More & more of the tech world is like this & likely will remain this way in the post-PC era. I…...

The problem is not openness and transparency. The problem is corrupted businesses and their practices.
How about focusing on delivering real social value and doing what's right for your consumer, society and the planet first? The only time you don't…...