“Need to Know": Did Someone Say “Techlash”?
By Cheryl Harbour

The term “techlash” has become one of those words that means different – and even contradictory -- things.

(Another example of those words is “bi-monthly,” which means “every other month” and “twice a month.” So if I’m going to pay you “bi-monthly,” which will it be?)

Way back in 2015, a member of the UK Parliament, Nat Wei, coined the term to describe the situation resulting from technology superstars and their companies becoming rich and powerful and leaving their communities behind. 

During a speech at London Technology Week , he said, “Certain people will find they are excluded from the tech boom and the tech industry, and are not able to access the asset appreciation. Instead they feel a sense of resentment." He predicted people would soon have the same resentment toward tech geeks they have felt in the past toward attorneys and bankers.

The term techlash was used in a totally different way in early 2017 to describe the tech industry’s response to President Trump’s ban on travel by Muslims. In what was described as a “rare moment of unanimity,” tech employees and even some leaders protested the ban and expressed support for a tech culture that’s filled with immigrants from many of the countries included in the ban.

And now techlash is back – and it’s being used in predictions that politicians will begin focusing on technology giants and institute fines, regulation and a tougher interpretation of competition rules. As in the anti-trust era, beginning at the end of the 20th Century, when a flood of new laws aimed at breaking up huge companies, some feel that technology giants, including Facebook, Google and Amazon, will face new scrutiny and efforts at limiting their control.

Techlash is the inevitable result of a massive industry that can't  and won't govern itself. Politicians and governments don’t have the technical background or knowledge to truly understand how big tech companies are operating. This includes, notably, how tech companies are collecting, storing, and selling data about consumers. With each passing week, it seems there is another big data breach in new the news. Consumers are starting to take notice and realizing just how much of their privacy they are giving up in exchange for the products and services offered by the mega tech corporations. If you think about your average day, you will realize just how much of your life is spent consuming or using products from the main 5 tech giants: Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Google and Apple. You likely found this article through a Google search and odds are you reading it on an Apple iPhone, which you may have bought from Amazon! And hopefully, you will share it with your friends on Facebook. You get the point. Techlash is officially here. Consumers clearly love the convenience and the products, but at what cost? That is what remains to be seen.




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