This month, Brazilian rideshare service 99 (acquired last year by Didi) debuted a feature that automatically detects harassment on its platform. The new tool scans reviews that both drivers and passengers leave after a journey. If a passenger complains about their experience with a driver or if a driver complains about a rider, the tech searches the review for language indicating that abusive behavior occurred. Staff then check what the software flags to determine whether harassment took place, and 99 decides whether to report the incident to authorities or block a user’s account.

99’s update is rooted in the expectation, re-energized by the global #MeToo revolution, that every organization must adopt a zero-tolerance policy against harassment. Let’s dive into two more takeaways:

- Vigilant and prescient platforms. Last year, consumers and politicians lost patience with tech companies that failed to police and protect users on the basis that they are a ‘platform’. This goes beyond the free speech/hate speech debate engulfing social media’s largest players and extends to ridesharing, too. Any company with a large community of users has a responsibility to react swiftly to bad actors and to work to prevent these incidents occurring again in future. To misquote Mark Zuckerberg: are you taking a broad enough view of your responsibility?

- Superhuman Resources to the rescue! As we outlined in 5 Trends for 2019, the fundamental ethical standards people hold for each other have transferred over to technology. Consumers are demanding brands do better and deploy their resources for good. 97% of consumers expect brands to use technology ethically ...the other 3% work for FAANG. Jokes aside, alongside 99’s abuse tracker, innovations like Spot’s HR discrimination tool and the FT’s anti-bias bot are heightening this expectation. Think beyond efficiency gains. Do you invest in new technology to deliver on the best of your brand’s values?