Why 2022 could be a ‘watershed year’ for tech regulation

January 3, 2022

(The Washington Post) Up until now, the so-called techlash that ushered in historic scrutiny of Silicon Valley companies has been mostly toothless, producing few new rules in the United States to rein in their conduct.  But 2022 may finally be the year that policymakers turn their fiery tech rhetoric into significant regulation of the industry…

VC Joe Lonsdale’s tweets about ‘woke’ tech diversity spark investor pushback

January 3, 2022

(Techcrunch) Last week, in response to a Black entrepreneur who said VCs are racist, venture capitalist and entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale attributed disparities in venture capital investing to “average black culture.” “A real view: average black culture needs to step it up and stop having as many kids born out of wedlock (statistical indicator of underperformance)…

Even My Business-School Students Have Doubts About Capitalism

January 2, 2022

(The Atlantic) During a lecture in my Modern Political Economy class this fall, I explained—as I have to many students over the course of four decades in academia—that capitalism’s adaptation to globalization and technological change had produced gains for all of society. I went on to say that capitalism has been an engine of wealth…

A Former Facebook Executive Pushes to Open Social Media’s ‘Black Boxes’

January 2, 2022

(New York Times) Brandon Silverman’s last day at Facebook was Oct. 8, and like many others who have sold their companies to a Silicon Valley giant, had their shares vest and departed, he planned to take a year off to spend time with his children and figure out what to do next. He had been…

TikTok moderator sues over ‘psychological trauma’

December 30, 2021

(BBC) A former TikTok moderator is suing the company, claiming it failed to protect her mental health after “constant” exposure to traumatic video content. Candie Frazier says she reviewed videos that featured “extreme and graphic violence” for up to 12 hours a day.She says she suffers from “significant psychological trauma”, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic…

VentureESG — the journey so far and what’s to come

December 30, 2021

(Medium) It’s hard to believe that just over a year ago, the seeds of VentureESG were yet to be planted. Initially, we even had trouble finding people in the venture capital world who knew what ESG was, let alone those who were actively engaging with it, in any meaningful manner. The typical response when we…

ESG investing continued to soar in 2021. The government could boost it even more

December 28, 2021

(Fast Company) Faced with the ongoing calamity of climate change, both seasoned investors and those new to the market are increasingly embracing funds with more sustainable stocks. They’re favoring companies that take action to address the climate crisis and other environmental and social issues, like resource conservation, biodiversity, and human rights—rather than continuing to fund…

Riot Games agrees to pay $100 million in settlement of class-action gender discrimination lawsuit

December 27, 2021

(The Washington Post) “League of Legends” publisher Riot Games announced Monday that it is settling a 2018 gender-based discrimination class-action suit with California state agencies and current and former women employees for $100 million. The company will pay $80 million to members of the class-action suit and approximately $20 million toward plaintiffs’ legal fees. The…

Climate tech investment is booming, but not in the right sectors

December 21, 2021

(Quartz) Investment poured into climate tech at record levels in 2021, riding an overall boom in tech investment brought on by high-dollar public offerings, economic recovery from the pandemic, and growing interest in tech startups by private equity firms and other funders. In the first six months of 2021, climate tech attracted $60 billion in…

CFPB blasts VCs in ordering LendUp to stop lending

December 21, 2021

(Protocol) The Consumer Financial Protection said online lender LendUp will stop lending operations and pay a penalty for practices that the agency said misled and deceived consumers. The California-based online lender will cease issuing loans and collecting on outstanding loans, and will pay a $100,000 penalty for engaging in “illegal and deceptive marketing,” the CFPB…