San Francisco Is Creating an Emerging Tech Office

San Francisco wants to create an Office of Emerging Technology. Sounds cool, but it's not exactly a blessing for emerging tech companies. They'll have to pitch their products and services to the office, which will "issue a Notice to Proceed if the net result is for the common good."

SF is the seat of companies making everything from e-scooters to nicotine thumb drives to online booking marketplaces. That means the city is no stranger to disorganized tech rollouts.

• Take scooters: Following SF's decision to temporarily yank them from public streets, micromobility providers focused on other markets. Now the city is trying to proactively deal with these challenges.

Not everyone's a fan

Following the announcement, the world's most active netizens—aka Bay-based tech entrepreneurs and investors—expressed their, uh, displeasure with the new proposal on Twitter. They think that like many other local regulations, the new office will stifle innovation and shift entrepreneurship away from the city.

Big picture: Between this proposed legislation and a recent facial recognition ban for police and other local agencies, SF is stepping up the heat on emerging tech companies that ask for forgiveness, not permission.