Silicon Valley in danger of becoming the new bad guy: Steve Case

AOL co-founder and former CEO Steve Case anticipates a change in the regulatory market in the wake of the transformation of the technology industry over the last decade.

“It’s beginning to change, we started seeing in the last couple of years in the European Union, Brussels kind of backing the slowdown of some of the things happening with big tech and we are seeing a growing backlash in this country [United States] as well,” Case told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria.”

“People are proud of what’s happened in Silicon Valley but also a little nervous about some of the implications, and including here in Washington D.C.,” he added. “There is a lot more focus obviously, some Congressional committees looking into what was the role of Facebook or other things even in the election.”

With the rise of Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and their ability to acquire a sizeable about of personal data, in Case’s opinion, Silicon Valley should be vigilant.

“Technology becomes so much more central in terms of our everyday lives, has such a big impact on our economy, it’s not surprising there is more of a focus on the role of big tech,” he said. “I think Silicon Valley is at risk of becoming kind of the new bad guy where people love some of the products and services that come from Silicon Valley, [but] they are a little nervous about some of the steps that some companies in Silicon Valley are taking.”