Tech and Regulators Can Find Common Ground

It seems that everywhere you look these days, tech is under attack. Companies driving transformational innovations are facing a backlash. Last week, Transport for London said Uber was not “fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license.” And, facing widespread criticism for Russian-financed activity on its site before the U.S. presidential elections, Facebook indicated that it would change its procedures for political ads. These headline-grabbing developments followed a series of controversies about anti-competitive behavior, inappropriate cultures, and insensitive and unsuitable approaches to important diversity and inclusion issues.

Although company-specific factors undoubtedly played a role in each of these instances, there is also a common thread: a threat that needs to be taken more seriously, lest business leaders, regulators and peer pressure risk causing the baby to be thrown out with the bathwater.