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.
The best way to anchor this discussion is with the simple observation that the main reason why big tech companies have become so prominent is that their innovations are so powerfully disruptive, enabling and empowering. This is especially the case for platform providers -- Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Uber -- whose goods and services benefit a wide range of individuals and companies by simultaneously improving both demand and supply. Just think, an estimated 3 million users could be affected by the Transport for London decision on Uber (including me, when I visit there).
