Published today with AI Now Institute

As leading technology companies have grown exponentially over the last decade, so too have concerns about their outsized impact on our economy and democracy – including their contribution to racial inequities. Our new report,  “Advancing Racial Equity through Technology Policy,”describes how the hands-off policy approach of “permissionless innovation” allowed the largest tech companies to grow in ways that have exacerbated racial inequities and presents a policy agenda for building a more just tech sector and economy.

Advancing Racial Equity through Technology Policy makes the case that Big Tech's business model harms communities of color across 4 key dimensions:

1. Democratic participation: Advertising-driven revenue streams lead to mis- and disinformation that spreads virally and impedes access to democratic processes for communities of color.

2. Worker power & good jobs: Big Tech’s labor practices push workers of color into lower-paid jobs that face round-the-clock surveillance, poor working conditions, and instability.

3. Equitable access to goods, services, & information: Big Tech’s monopoly over compute power excludes communities of color from digital goods and service provision.

4. Ownership & entrepreneurship. Big Tech’s monopoly over digital marketplaces allows them to prioritize their own products and services - to the disadvantage of small businesses and entrepreneurs of color. 

All this was possible thanks to an incredible team of scholars and experts including my co-authors, Eliza McCollough, Sarah Treuhaft, and Rachel Gachinga; the scholars who provided original research on which this report is based, Dr. Veena Dubal, Dr. Seeta Peña Gangadharan, Amina Kirk and Mae Watson Grote, Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Dr. Jasmine McNealy, Dr. Ulises Ali Mejias, Cierra Robson and Dr. Ruha Benjamin, Dr. Shelly Steward, Dr. Sarah Meyers West, and Dr. Fallon Wilson; and our Advisory Committee members—Becky Chao, Dr. Sasha Costanza-Chock, Lisa Dyer, Dr. Dominique Harrison, Ryan Gerety, Dr. Tina M. Park, Dr. Andre Perry, Steven Renderos, Solana Rice, Brittany Smith, and Adrienne Williams— who provided deep subject-matter expertise across a variety of domains.

Check out the full report here!