Techlash Seen as Growing Concern at CES, With Some Lawmakers Less Tech Savvy
LAS VEGAS -- CES speakers warned against “techlash,” a growing backlash against increasingly pervasive technology. Panelists said more scrutiny is inevitable as almost every company in the U.S. focuses on tech. Techlash is real, said Michael Petricone, CTA senior vice president-government and regulatory affairs. “Any new technology brings benefits, and it challenges,” he said.
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Tech has also become “pervasive,” Petricone said. “When you walk around the floor at CES, you see companies … exhibiting you never would have imagined anywhere near even two years ago. Procter & Gamble is exhibiting. John Deere is exhibiting; they have a tractor. Furrion has a full-sized yacht.” Every company is now a tech company and that means more scrutiny, he said. The key is “not going overboard” so U.S. technology can continue to thrive, he said.
“The honeymoon between tech and policymakers and the public is probably over, like all honeymoons,” said Zach Graves, Lincoln Network head-policy. “Now we’re into the relationship.” CES tends to be a “tech optimism show,” focused on “what’s cool and what’s best about tech,” Graves said. “That’s the overwhelming theme that you get.” There’s also more focus on how “technology can be abused,” especially as it plays a bigger role in people’s lives, he said.
Graves warned that few lawmakers understand tech issues. “We still have members bragging about using flip-phones or not using email,” he said. “The baseline literacy is not where it should be.” Agencies like GAO and the Congressional Research Service have had budgets slashed, he said. Congress’ Office of Technology Assessment was defunded in 1995, but there's a move to bring it back, he said. Some lawmakers say members are tech savvy (see 1812260042).
The techlash is more about politics than policy, Graves said: “It’s about who are our friends and who are our enemies.” There has been a conservative populist pushback against tech but “not a lot of substance there,” he said.
People feel anxious about the growing role of technology in their lives and that can play out in policy discussions, said Adam Kovacevich, Google director-public policy. Policymakers are concerned about control, he said. The public asks, “How can I control my data? … How do I know what companies collect about me and what do they do with that information?” he said. Those are “legitimate” questions, he said.
Too often lawmakers see the internet as consisting only of big players like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix, said Sasha Moss, R Street Institute federal affairs manager. “There are startups out there,” she said. “There is the little guy trying to create a cloud-based platform or app.” The internet was possible only because of light-touch regulation, she said. Big companies have the staff to deal with regulation, startups don’t, she said.