Apple came under fire from users and the press when it was discovered that Siri, the company’s recently-unveiled “intelligent personal assistant,” would not provide information about abortion clinics or emergency contraceptives. Siri replied to some inquiries about abortion by saying it couldn’t find any abortion clinics even if there were multiple hospitals or Planned Parenthood health centers nearby, and to others by directing users to anti-abortion centers. The story first received significant attention in 2011 after it was covered by the New York Times, forcing Apple to promise a fix to the “glitch” and attempt to reassure users that the omissions were “not intentional.” The controversy didn't go away - in 2016, Apple recieved another wave of bad press after a researcher asserted Siri was still providing incomplete results.

In 2014, Twitter was applauded for adding more “civility” to the site when it rolled out a host of tools to empower users themselves to combat harassment. In particular, Twitter improved its blocking feature, making it easier to use and more powerful so that a blocked user could no longer view the blocker’s profile. After previously coming under fire for its handling of online threats, observers called this a move “in the right direction.”

AT&T eventually changed its policy, but only after the company was subjected to a barrage of negative press and customer complaints, with the media accusing the company of “holding FaceTime hostage,” “slapping consumers in [the] face over FaceTime,” and carrying out “simple extortion.”