“Over the past year, the neighborhood has taken on a whole new meaning,” says Sarah Friar, CEO of Nextdoor. Traffic to the platform, which functions as a digital bulletin board for local communities, spiked nearly 50% as people sought everything from lost pets to COVID-19 vaccines. But the content, like the ads that help fund the site, isn’t limited to locally owned entities, and Nextdoor’s supposedly safety-oriented posting function has proved ripe for racial profiling. (Facing criticism, Nextdoor added reminders to focus on specific behavioral descriptions.) The company has reportedly been targeting a valuation upwards of $4 billion, with buzz of a future IPO.
More Must-Read Stories From TIME
- The Fight to Save the Salmon
- Inside the World of Black Bitcoin, Where Crypto Is About Making More Than Just Money
- The 'Great Resignation' Is Finally Getting Companies to Take Burnout Seriously. Is It Enough?
- Suddenly, Everyone on TV Is Very Rich or Very Poor. What Happened?
- Colin Powell Reflects on His Mistakes in Unpublished TIME Interview
- Business Travel's Demise Could Have Far-Reaching Consequences
- If the U.S. Spends Big on Climate, the Rest of the World Might Follow
