The full impact of the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union won’t be known for a long time.
But the tech industry, which had thrown its backing behind the “Remain” side of the so-called “Brexit” vote, will closely watch how events develop in the coming weeks and months.
The biggest concern is of course whether U.K. tech firms and U.S. ones will lose access to a single European market.
Here are three other areas that matter to tech:
Labor:
For tech companies headquartered in the U.K., being part of the E.U. meant that they could recruit talent easily between European countries. That may end once the U.K. exits the European Union.
This could particularly affect startups. Patrik Arnesson, chief executive of Sweden-based Football Addicts, told the Wall Street Journal that he would scrap plans to open up a second office in London out of fears that it will be hard to move workers between Swedish and U.K. offices.
Although some speculate that the free movement of labor will likely be one of the issues renegotiated in trade talks in the coming years, it’s hard to imagine that more stringent visa controls won’t be part of the new post-Brexit order in the U.K.
Regulation:
The U.K. has long been the more free-market advocate in the European Union, pushing back on the continent’s tendency to regulate.
That directly affects tech companies, which face regulators concerned about issues such as privacy and antitrust.
Tech may suffer a double loss on this front. First, the lack of a British ally at the table when the European Commission sets tech policy means stiffer regulations may be put in place. Second, tech firms will likely face two sets of regulations and policies instead of one.
Perception:
The U.K. has become one of Europe’s tech centers over the past 10 years. That may start to change if entrepreneurs see the U.K. as a place that is turning inwards in some way, ZDNet writes.
Already some startups waiting for funding say they have been declined because of the vote. A chilling effect may turn investors away from U.K.-based startups.
But it’s not all gloom and doom.
Baroness Martha Lane Fox, a Twitter director, told the BBC:
I’m an optimist – we have huge potential. Let’s use the power of the internet as a force not just for business growth but social cohesion and growth.
Photo: West Pier, Brighton, England on Friday, June 24, 2016, the day after the Brexit vote. (Michelle Quinn/Bay Area News Group)
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