Big Tech loves disruption, when they're doing the disruption

My latest Locus Magazine column is "Disruption for Thee, But Not for Me," and it analyzes how Big Tech has been able to "disrupt" incumbent industries, but has repurposed obscure technology regulations to prevent anyone from meting out the same treatment to their new digital monopolies.

I cite the example of Uber and Lyft, which have gutted the (often corrupt and rentier-riddled) taxi industry, but which can't be similarly cannibalized my driver co-ops without risking legal retaliation through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

But imagine a disruptive app that disrupted the disrupters.

Imagine if I could install a version of Ride (call it Meta-Uber) that knew about all the driver co-ops in the world. When I landed, Id page a car with Uber or Lyft, but once a driver accepted the hail, my Meta-Uber app would signal the drivers phone and ask, Do you have a driver co-op app on your phone? If the driver and I both had the co-op app, our apps would cancel the Uber reservation and re-book the trip with Meta-Uber.That way, we could piggyback on the installed base of Uber and Lyft cars, the billions theyve poured into getting rideshare services legalized in cities around the world, the marketing billions theyve spent making us all accustomed to the idea of rideshare services.

This Meta-Uber service would allow for a graceful transition from the shareholder-owned rideshares to worker co-ops. When you needed a car, youd get one, without having to solve the chicken-and-egg problem of no drivers because there are no passengers because there are no drivers.