Abstract
This Article examines three distinct areas to consider how we might move
toward racially equitable and accountable tech. The three distinct areas are:
(1) fair housing, (2) surveillance, and (3) social media. Fair housing raises
questions about where today’s racially biased algorithms fit within the context
of historical, racist government housing policy. Surveillance raises questions
about how some tech tools render Black faces invisible, while others render
Black faces dangerously conspicuous. Social media highlights the clash
between civil rights and civil liberties, especially when racial justice conflicts
with freedom of speech. Our analysis leads us to consider the extent to which
legal and non-legal remedies can promote a racially equitable and accountable
tech industry. Moreover, in the context of a Biden administration, we consider
the promise of the federal government to lead us in the fight to promote change.
Ultimately, the Article suggests that legislators, lawyers, journalists, activists,
artists, designers, developers, and community organizers must work together,
using all available tools, to dismantle structural racism in tech.
Repository Citation
Andrea Giampetro-Meyer, Janae James, and Sydney Brooke,
Toward Racially Equitable and Accountable Tech,
105 Marq. L. Rev. 265
(2021).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr/vol105/iss2/3