London's 'Pro-Business' Mayor Is Attacking Politicians For Failing to Regulate Tech Giants

Mayor Sadiq Khan is presenting his keynote speech at SXSW in Austin, Texas tonight. Credit: Steve Rogers Photography/Getty Images for SXSW.

Tonight Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, will launch a blistering attack against politicians, tech giants and policymakers – accusing them of being asleep at the wheel while technology firms skirt regulations.

Khan will call out British politicians and policymakers for their “dereliction of duty” in failing “to ensure that the rapid growth in technology is utilized and steered in a direction that benefits us all”.

He will label Governments as “passive – sitting on their hands while the tech revolution has happened around them.”

And he will call for additional regulation and oversight, specifically in areas like the sharing economy where companies are “innovating ahead of regulation”.

All this from a politician who campaigned two years ago on a promise to be the most “business-friendly” Mayor of London ever.

Over the weekend the UK's Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Matt Hancock called for limits on children's use of social media. Credit: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images.

Friend or foe?

Whether it’s Uber’s sexism, Facebook’s fake news or Apple’s addictive apps ensnaring our children, there’sa populist tech backlash in full swingand today politicians are taking full advantage of it.

Over the weekend the UK’s Digital Minister, Matt Hancock,toldThe Timesthat he will seek to legislate in order to restrict the number of hours children in the UK are legally allowed to spend on social media.

“I think there is a genuine concern about the amount of screen time young people are clocking up and the negative impact it could have on their lives,” Hancock said.

That from a Conservative Government which has long held up its business-friendly policies with pride.

Khan’s speech today, which comes as part of his keynote at SXSW in Austin, Texas, seems to join the growing negative sentiment around tech.

“Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have brought huge benefits to society. They’ve made it easier for us to stay in touch with those we love, meet like-minded people and have easier access to information we want,” Khan will say.

“But – understandably – there are growing concerns about the way some of the biggest companies on the planet are impacting our lives and the overall wellbeing of our societies.”

Khan will accuse fellow politicians of a “dereliction of duty” by allowing tech giants free reign. Credit: Alberto Pezzali/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

The tech backlash

While Khan and Hancock’s concerns may both be valid, the message they send, from a Government and a Mayor whose relationships with the tech community are tepid at best, is that London and the UK are becoming less tech-friendly by the minute.

“We welcome a pragmatic conversation about the future of tech,”Dom Hallas, Executive Director of startup policy groupCoadectoldForbes.

“But it is important we think about the impact of regulation on the whole community, not just big players, to avoid throwing out the baby with the bathwater.”

It’s trendy to attack tech, but that’s not a good enough reason for our politicians to do it.