Irish Examiner view: Tech giants’ power must be curtailed

Uphill battle to probe conglomorates

The ambition to rebalance the out-of-kilter relationships between societies and the tech empires cannot be realised soon enough.

This week Ireland recoiled from another reckoning with our past when the terrible injustices and cruelties of the mother and baby homes were formally recognised. The hypocrisy and sanctimony of those who imposed their worldview seem, at this remove, astounding, almost incomprehensible. The obvious, hard question — "Did no-one shout stop?" — recurs. It is possible, indeed it is probable, that someone did but were drowned in cultural hubris. A theocracy was not open to challenge and society did not have the confidence to challenge it. It is of little consolation to those traumatised in those settings that today's hopes suggest institutionalised abuse would not be tolerated, though some of those vulnerable people dependent on today's direct provision services might challenge that assessment. 

This week's report was more a long-dreaded confirmation than an expose and showed that some important lessons remain unlearned. We are deaf to warnings about inaction or deferred token action. Our not-just-yet delusion around climate change is an example. The difficulties at some private nursing homes are a reminder too that we need to quickly do much, much more to prepare for a far higher proportion of older people in our society.