“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-Reads From TIME
- How an Alleged Spy Balloon Derailed an Important U.S.-China Meeting
- Effective Altruism Has a Toxic Culture of Sexual Harassment and Abuse, Women Say
- Inside Bolsonaro's Surreal New Life as a Florida Man—and MAGA Darling
- 'Return to Office' Plans Spell Trouble for Working Moms
- 8 Ways to Read More Books—and Why You Should
- Why Aren't Movies Sexy Anymore?
- Column: Elon Musk Should Not Be in Charge of the Night Sky
- How Logan Paul's Crypto Empire Fell Apart
- 80 for Brady May Not Be a Masterpiece. But the World Needs More Movies Like This