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In October 2021, Netflix released Dave Chappelle's special 'The Closer' which was widely condemned by LGBTQ+ organizations including GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign for anti-trans content. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended the special, stating it didn't cross the line into inciting hate. Netflix suspended Terra Field, a trans senior software engineer who publicly criticized the special, though later reversed the suspension. Around 65 employees and advocates staged a walkout. In May 2022, Netflix updated its culture memo to state the company will not 'censor specific artists or voices' and that employees who find it hard to support content breadth should consider leaving.

Former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen leaked internal documents to Congress and testified on October 5, 2021, revealing that Meta's own research found 13.5% of teen girls said Instagram worsens suicidal thoughts and 17% said it contributes to eating disorders. Internal presentation stated 'we make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls.' Research showed Instagram's algorithm can lead children from innocuous content to anorexia-promoting content quickly.

On October 4, 2021, all Meta services including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger went offline for approximately 6 hours due to a faulty BGP configuration change during routine maintenance. The outage affected an estimated 3.5 billion users worldwide, disrupted businesses dependent on the platforms, and caused an estimated $100 million in lost advertising revenue. WhatsApp's outage was particularly impactful in developing countries where it serves as critical communication infrastructure.

Facebook's internal research found that 13.5% of teen girls said Instagram worsened suicidal thoughts and 17% said it worsened eating disorders. 32% of teen girls said Instagram made them feel worse about their bodies. Despite knowing these harms, Facebook continued prioritizing engagement and growth. In October 2021, former Facebook employee Frances Haugen disclosed tens of thousands of internal documents to the SEC and Wall Street Journal showing the company was aware of the toxic risks to teenage girls' mental health. During Senate testimony, Haugen stated 'Facebook repeatedly encountered conflicts between its own profits and our safety. Facebook consistently resolved those conflicts in favor of its own profits.' Zuckerberg called her claims a 'false picture' and was criticized for posting about sailing while the 60 Minutes interview aired. He refused to testify before Congress. Haugen noted that Zuckerberg's controlling stake means he is 'accountable only to himself.'

In 2021, Frances Haugen copied tens of thousands of internal Facebook documents and provided them to the SEC, Congress, and journalists. Known as the 'Facebook Papers,' these documents revealed Facebook knew Instagram was harmful to teen mental health (13.5% of teen girls said it worsened suicidal thoughts), that the platform's algorithms amplified divisive content, and that safety measures were weakened after the 2020 election. She appeared on 60 Minutes on October 3, 2021, and testified before Congress on October 5, 2021. Facebook's market cap dropped approximately $6 billion following the revelations.

Haugen's public whistleblowing was managed by Bill Burton, Obama's former deputy press secretary and founder of Democratic super PAC Priorities USA Action. Burton and his firm Bryson Gillette created an unprecedented international media consortium. Pierre Omidyar's Luminate provided $150,000 to Whistleblower Aid for legal representation and funded her European tour. Omidyar also backs the Center for Humane Technology, where Burton serves on the board. This raised questions about conflicts of interest and whether her testimony represented independent whistleblowing or a coordinated political campaign.

Frances Haugen filed at least eight complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that Facebook's public statements about platform safety contradicted its internal research. The complaints focused on Facebook's knowledge of harms caused by its platform, including teen mental health impacts and algorithmic amplification of harmful content, which it allegedly concealed from investors.

Naval Ravikant has publicly framed decentralized finance (DeFi) as a way to circumvent government oversight, stating: 'They call it DeFi, but I actually think it's more like DEFY as, just defy the government.' He co-founded MetaStable Capital, a crypto hedge fund backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. He has advocated for minimal SEC regulation of crypto, arguing regulators who restrict crypto innovation 'will go into the wastebasket of history as a villain.' He also served as a board member of the Zcash Foundation.

Under Wojcicki's leadership, YouTube implemented strict COVID-19 misinformation policies starting in February 2020, removing content that contradicted WHO and CDC guidance. By September 2021, over 1 million videos had been removed for violating these policies.

In September 2021, Activision Blizzard under CEO Bobby Kotick agreed to pay $18 million to settle an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit. The EEOC alleged employees had been subjected to sexual harassment that was severe or pervasive, that the company failed to take corrective and preventative measures, and that it discriminated against employees due to pregnancy. The settlement created a fund for employees who pursued discrimination and harassment claims.

Following Frances Haugen whistleblower revelations and public outcry, Instagram announced in September 2021 it was pausing work on Instagram Kids, a platform intended for users under 13. The app would have targeted pre-teens despite internal research showing Instagram harms teen mental health. The pause came after intense criticism from lawmakers, child safety advocates, and parents.

Lithuania's National Cyber Security Centre found that Xiaomi phones contained a built-in module capable of censoring 449+ keywords related to Tibet, Taiwan independence, democracy movements, and other politically sensitive terms.

Salesforce committed $100 million over 10 years toward climate justice, funding innovative nature-based solutions and supporting nonprofits advancing equitable clean energy transitions. In FY2024, the company provided $10 million in climate justice grants supporting 18 organizations globally. Salesforce also achieved net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across global operations and committed to 100% renewable energy, offering a carbon-neutral cloud to customers.

Coinbase developed and sold its blockchain analytics tool (Coinbase Analytics, later renamed Coinbase Tracer) to multiple US government agencies. ICE signed a $1.37M contract in September 2021 gaining access to multi-hop analysis, Lightning network investigation, historical geo-tracking data, and transaction demixing across 12 blockchains. DHS contracted for $455K-$1.4M. The Secret Service signed two contracts worth up to $183,750 each. The tool was built on technology from Neutrino, a company Coinbase acquired in 2019. Coinbase claimed the tool only used publicly available blockchain data, not proprietary customer data.

In September 2021, Cisco announced a commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its full value chain (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) by 2040. The commitment was validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. Cisco also set interim targets to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 90% by 2025 from a 2019 baseline and reduce absolute Scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2030.

In September 2021, Wall Street Journal published leaked internal Facebook research showing the company knew Instagram caused harm to teenagers, especially teen girls. Internal studies found 32% of teen girls said Instagram made body image issues worse, 13.5% said it worsened suicidal thoughts, and 17% said it worsened eating disorders. Whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former product manager, disclosed tens of thousands of internal documents to the SEC and testified before the Senate Commerce Committee on October 5, 2021, alleging Facebook chose profits over user safety.

The Wikimedia Foundation banned seven Wikipedia users and removed administrator privileges from twelve users who were members of the Wikimedians of Mainland China (WMC) group for coordinated manipulation and security concerns, protecting the integrity of Wikipedia's content.

On September 9, 2021, Logitech announced its commitment to becoming climate positive, targeting net-zero emissions by 2030 with science-based targets aligned with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C pathway. By FY2025, the company reported 93% renewable electricity, a 53% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and a 13% reduction in Scope 3 emissions. Approximately 78% of Logitech products use recycled plastic. The company joined the RE100 initiative for 100% renewable energy commitment.

In September 2021, it was revealed that Proton Mail had complied with a Swiss legal order to log the IP address of a French climate activist associated with Youth for Climate. The Swiss authorities acted on a request from French police via Europol. This contradicted Proton's marketing which previously stated 'we do not log your IP address.' Proton updated their privacy policy afterward.

Melanie Perkins and husband Cliff Obrecht joined Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge in 2021, committing 80% of their 30% Canva stake to the Canva Foundation. They described themselves as 'custodians' of wealth meant to 'do the most good.' Named Australia's second most generous philanthropists.

A female staffer posted an 11-page account alleging her supervisor and a client sexually assaulted her on a business trip, with managers failing to act. Alibaba fired manager Wang Chengwen and accepted resignations from unit president and HR head. Critics noted Alibaba only acted after allegations went public on the company intranet. In December 2021, Alibaba fired the woman who made the allegations for 'spreading false information' and dismissed 10 staffers for sharing screenshots publicly.

Between 2015 and 2021, Frances Haugen made over 40 donations to Democratic candidates and organizations including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, her 'Courage to Change' PAC, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the progressive group 'It Starts Today'. Her most recent donation was in August 2021, shortly before her whistleblowing became public. This raised questions about potential political bias in her testimony before Congress on tech regulation.

During the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election, Mayer donated $200,000 to oppose the effort to recall Governor Gavin Newsom. Politico described this as 'deepening the governor's substantial Silicon Valley support.'

T-Mobile has experienced repeated data breaches (2009, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024). The 2021 breach exposed 40+ million customers' SSNs, leading to a $350M settlement. In 2024, the FCC imposed a $31.5M fine. In November 2024, T-Mobile was targeted by Chinese hacker group 'Salt Typhoon' infiltrating US telecom networks.

In August 2021, Alex Karp personally donated $180,000 to David Lidstone, an 81-year-old New Hampshire hermit known as 'River Dave,' whose cabin burned down while he was in jail for squatting. This was described as Karp keeping 'philanthropy low-key' and represented an unusual personal charitable action.

Gamers Nexus testing revealed that Gigabyte's GP-P850GM and GP-P750GM power supplies had a dangerous failure mode where overvoltage protection did not function properly, causing units to fail catastrophically and posing fire risks. Newegg initially bundled the faulty PSUs with popular GPUs during the shortage. Gigabyte eventually issued a recall/replacement program.

In 2021, DoorDash deliberately blocked the third-party app Para, which provided Dashers with tip information before accepting deliveries. DoorDash had intentionally designed its app to hide tip information from workers, and when Para attempted to provide this transparency, DoorDash cut off its access. The Electronic Frontier Foundation highlighted this as a worker rights issue, noting that the suppression of tip information left workers unable to make informed decisions about which deliveries to accept, contributing to wage uncertainty.

Multiple class action lawsuits were filed against Stripe alleging its JavaScript library (Stripe.js) collects user data beyond fraud prevention, including browsing behavior across websites. A 2021 California federal court ruled privacy claims could proceed, finding plaintiffs had not consented to data dissemination to third parties. A 2024 lawsuit against Crumbl Cookies alleged Stripe's tracking codes persist on browsers after purchases, enabling cross-device identification. Stripe maintains data collection is for fraud prevention.

Slack pledged 1% of company equity, time, and product to community benefit. When Salesforce completed its $27.7B acquisition in 2021, Slack donated $54 million — the balance of the value of its Pledge 1% share reserve — to the Salesforce Foundation. Slack also gave employees seven days of paid volunteer time off and provided free or discounted software to nonprofits.

On July 20, 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit alleging that Activision Blizzard fostered a 'frat boy' culture in which female employees endured regular sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. The lawsuit documented 700 reported incidents of misconduct during CEO Bobby Kotick's tenure. Women were universally paid less, offered less stock and incentive pay, denied promotions due to fears they might become pregnant, reprimanded for childcare needs, and kicked out of lactation rooms by male colleagues. The lawsuit resulted in three major settlements: $18M EEOC settlement (March 2022), $35M SEC settlement for lack of workplace controls (February 2023), and $54M California settlement (December 2023), totaling $107M in penalties.