Power & Accountability in Tech

Power & Accountability in Tech

Hosted by UCLA Institute for Technology, Law & Policy

The explosive growth of the tech sector has allowed private sector companies to amass an extraordinary amount of power, to the point where these entities exercise control over virtually every aspect of our day-to-day lives. In response, scholars, regulators, and civil society advocates have advanced a range of proposals aimed at boosting public accountability across this sector. These include legal solutions, such as algorithmic fairness rules, as well as novel extra-legal structures, including new multi-stakeholder bodies which aim to provide a layer of public engagement and accountability independent of government control. There are also increasing calls for tough action to bring these companies to heel, from antitrust investigations to new privacy or data protection rules meant to disrupt the data-hungry business models that many tech giants were built around. The diverse, and even contradictory, nature of these potential solutions reflects a highly diffuse understanding of what accountability should look like for these new power structures, and of the proper social response to the unprecedented influence being wielded by the tech sector.

This event will host a series of conversations aimed at framing our understanding of power and accountability in the tech space and generating common understandings of the goal of regulation in this space. The speakers will address a range of topics related to the consolidation of power and will reflect a diversity of perspectives on these vital issues.