NYC tech giants band together to create industry lobbying group

Shawn Knight

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Some of the nation’s largest technology companies are locking arms to create a New York City-based lobbying group, one that AOL CEO Tim Armstrong and venture capitalist Fred Wilson believe is now necessary to better represent the city’s tech community before local and state governments.

Armstrong and Wilson, who are serving as co-chairs of Tech:NYC, say the group’s objectives are two-fold.

Primary goals are to support the growth of the tech sector in New York City, to increase civic engagement by leaders of the NYC tech community and to advocate for policies that will attract tech talent, jobs and opportunity to the city.

Furthermore, the group will advocate for policies that underscore a regulatory environment that supports the growth of tech companies and tech talent in the city, promote inclusivity and ensure access for all New Yorkers to connectivity, technology tools and training.

In announcing the group, Armstrong and Wilson point to a number of recent tech-related public policy issues in the city including a data breach bill, local drone regulation and how to handle ride-sharing and home-sharing services like Uber and Airbnb, respectively.

The group is off to a solid start with an impressive list of founding members including AOL, Bloomberg, Facebook, Google and Union Square Ventures. Other members include Airbnb, eBay, Etsy, Kickstarter, Snapchat and Uber, just to name a few.

Armstrong and Wilson said they aren’t alone in the challenge, citing recent creation of a similar group – sf.citi – as inspirational leaders in the movement.

Image courtesy Francisco Diez, Flickr

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Certainly could be good or bad. If they start acting like the banking lobby, we will most certainly be screwed.
 
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