IBM’s Christopher Padilla: Firms Should Keep Society’s Trust in Tech Platforms Through Responsibility

Christopher Padilla, vice president for government and regulatory affairs at IBM, has said he believes that technology companies should take responsibility for new tech platforms they introduce and for the impact such platforms have on the society.

“We also believe that responsible technology companies should be in the lead as governments consider common-sense changes to the balance of regulatory and liability rules that govern the data economy,” Padilla wrote in a blog post published Thursday.

He also cited IBM’s stand on proposed regulations such as the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 and the Honest Ads Act.

The Honest Ads Act aims to require transparency for web-based political advertising, while SESTA would allow victims and law enforcement agencies to pursue legal action against internet media firms that use platforms to deliberately promote human trafficking-related content.

He also mentioned issues related to intermediary liability protection some companies enjoy in trade agreements.