Technology needs continued innovation not constraining regulation

[Commentary] Developers do not typically create software based on regulatory requirements; rather, they orient their efforts towards solving a specific problem or providing functionality not otherwise available to consumers. So why should regulation created for an industry built decades ago govern their designs?

Allowing regulations to dictate how new programs will operate and be delivered runs counter to the principles of technological innovation. Requiring the developers of the innovation economy to adhere to decades old telephone company regulations is a large step in the wrong direction for technology advancement.

Potential obligations to regulatory burdens like federal, state, and local reporting requirements, service level agreements, direct consent agreements, and privacy regulations could be an expensive and cumbersome burden to both large and small start-up technologies. Not to mention the deleterious effects of subjecting innovative businesses to the tariff regimes of an analog business model that is struggling to move forward into a digital world.

[Tews is also the Chief Policy Officer at 463 Communications]