When software eats the world... startups and regulation

On a16z.com there was a very interesting interview with Ted Ullyot. It is a very interesting piece that I bring to your attention.

When Software Eats the Physical World, Startups Bump Up Against Regulations: A Conversation with a16z’s Ted Ullyot

https://a16z.com/2015/04/22/ted-ullyot-policy-regulatory-affairs/

Editor’s Note: Ted Ullyot recently joined Andreessen Horowitz to head up its first-ever operating group for policy and regulatory affairs. Before joining a16z, Ted was General Counsel at Facebook, joining the company in 2008 when it was just 500 people and leading the legal team through IPO until 2013. Prior to Facebook, Ted spent most of his career as a Washington, D.C., lawyer, including as a Supreme Court law clerk for Justice Scalia; an Associate White House Counsel and later Deputy Staff Secretary for President George W. Bush; and at the Justice Department as Chief of Staff to Attorney General Gonzales. Ted also was General Counsel for AOL Time Warner Europe, and spent time as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, where he focused on regulatory and antitrust litigation among other things. He grew up in, and now lives in, the Bay Area with his wife and three children ages 13, 11, and 8.

Just one snippet to give a flavour of the conversation.

a16z: How do regulators figure out where fear-mongering ends and legitimate safety issues begin? And how can startups help them?

Most regulators are good people trying to do their jobs, which generally speaking is protecting consumers. By the same token, companies like Airbnb don’t want bad experiences for their homeowners/renters either, so they’re even more incented to enforce ratings and reporting and other mechanisms for trust and safety. Their business wouldn’t survive without this.

In this sense, startups are actually very aligned with the ultimate goals of regulators. The key is to find the thoughtful, progressive regulators who understand what you’re trying to do and know you’re acting in good faith, just like they are.

If you begin before you even have an ask, you can start from a place where you’re saying “How can the tech community help build products that address your concerns?” Or, “I’ve got a new way to do this that’s a lot safer for consumers.” For example, when was the last time you had a bad taxi ride and actually called the taxi commission phone number (do you even know where that is, by the way?) to file a complaint? It’s much more frictionless to input a rating or file a complaint on your mobile app and then get a response within 24 hours instead of within months if at all.

In this last scenario, you’re essentially saying to regulators, “Hey, let us help you make your job easier, especially since things are moving into mobile anyway.” Chances are you can find some regulator out there who is thoughtful and can be a leader in that shift to mobile (or whatever tech trend).

.......