All tech is good tech?
— a tale of two Cities
In spite of what we hear in the aftermath of Brexit, London is still probably the best place in Europe for innovative tech businesses to flourish and scale quickly — look at Deliveroo, Transferwise and Funding Circle for example. The tech sector is set to drive our economic recovery, so all tech is good tech it would seem, with London being the shining example of success.
However, we’re seeing a backlash from the side-effects of our push to innovate and drive shareholder value — and rightly so, as “disruptive” business models, celebrated by private sector investment, are fundamentally changing business sectors — and not always for the better.
We see on-demand economy business models where workers — denied full employment rights — seem to be exploited in order to help these companies grow with zero government regulation to hold them back.
The UK’s deregulated approach to innovative new services has recently been supported by the European Commission which has asked national governments to give the sharing economy room to thrive, criticising patchy regulations that could hamper innovation.
Germany, however, might have something different to say about that — it just isn’t as readily accepted as it is in London that all tech is good tech. Look, for example, at the Berlin city court’s recent ruling on Airbnb, effectively upholding a de facto ban on short-term rentals in the city. This was because the availability of affordable housing was considered to be under threat with rising rents and a growing population. While London and the UK is suffering from a similar problem, the prospect of such a law being introduced here is highly unlikely.
Berlin’s turbulent history was bound to influence the way the tech sector here developed. With half of the city living in fear of the Stasi for 40 years, where the collection of data about citizens went beyond just being able to identify dissenters to a point where it became about knowing everything about everyone, privacy and moderation is understandably central to everything technology-related in Berlin. But, in spite of this, regulation and innovation seem to happily co-exist, with Berlin producing pioneering tech businesses and being at the forefront of innovation and creativity in Europe.
Berlin’s more considered approach isn’t for everyone, and perhaps not least scaling tech businesses who need to get their product to market with minimal interference. Many of these startups will rollout in London, grow faster and deliver shareholder value. However, when it comes to considering, and managing, the wider impact of technology on our everyday lives, Berlin’s continued growth as a global leader in business, innovation and governance gives it an important voice on the world stage.
