Brexit The tech world reacts to UK's withdrawal from EU

The UK's decision to leave the European Union -- a movement called Brexit
-- goes against the sentiment of leading technologists and economists, all of
whom fear the potential effects at home and abroad. Nevertheless, the British
tech industry and the foreign tech companies that operate in the country must
now decide how to proceed, how to weather any potential storms and how to make
the most of the new environment in which they'll have to operate.

The referendum to exit the EU is unprecedented, making it impossible to
make long-term predictions about the impact on the tech world. But the
bombshell decision promises to shake things up as important figures and tech
companies take stock of the new norm. In the US, Donald Trump lauded the Brexit
movement, which he linked to his own unlikely ascension. President Barack Obama
said the US' relationship with the UK remains unchanged.

In the UK, the reaction can be summed up with one acronym: PMA. That's right,
there's a lot of "positive mental attitude" going round right now.
And the tech world is going to need a lot of PMA.

What about my mobile operator?

Despite throwing its weight behind the "remain" campaign, a
spokeswoman for carrier BT said that it was "business as usual" at
the company. "We'll work closely with the British government and EU during
negotiations, to ensure BT's views are heard, as our goal is to protect the
interests of our customers, employees, shareholders and business."

Rival O2 expressed disappointment. "We believe that large businesses
like ours would have been stronger remaining in the EU," said a company
spokesman. "Whatever happens next we will continue to fiercely compete in
our market, innovate and deliver for our customers."

Vodafone and Virgin Media were both keen to reassure customers that they'd
continue to receive company support, and neither firm predicted any short-term
impact on their UK businesses.

The EU is working toward eliminating roaming fees across the continent by
June 2017, and there's a possibility that the UK could lose out on this
benefit, said Luca Schiavoni, senior analyst at Ovum. "UK operators will
no longer be subject to the EC's roaming regulation," he said.

This is not a given, though. The networks have been trying to implement
these rules for several years and will want to remain competitive in the
market.

Data-protection regulations, which give internet users control over what
happens to their personal information, were drawn up by the EU, but they may
not disintegrate when the UK is no longer a member. For now the regulations are
"the law of the land," said a representative from the Information
Commissioner's Office.

"If the UK is not part of the EU, then upcoming EU reforms to
data-protection law would not directly apply to the UK," said the rep, who
added, however, that the UK's standards would have to be "equivalent"
to Europe's in order for the two to trade.

Stoicism rules

The positive attitude of the UK mobile networks is echoed by the UK's startup
scene, which is the strongest in Europe. Many high-profile tech entrepreneurs
are taking the stoic approach.

"I voted #Remain -- but I also believe that Britain will always be
open, creative & entrepreneurial. Let's ensure that happens. #EUref,"
tweeted Rohan Silva, co-founder of tech accelerator Second Home and prominent
advocate of the London tech scene. His post was retweeted by Baroness Martha
Lane Fox, founder of LastMinute.com.

Not everyone shared their optimism. A number of the UK's most successful
startups were adamantly against leaving Europe. TransferWise co-founder Taavet
Hinrikus, who was staunchly in favor of remaining in the EU, told The Guardian
that now "Headquartering elsewhere is a possibility."

Due to the UK being the financial capital of Europe, many money- and
payment-based tech startups like TransferWise are based in London --
particularly around Silicon Roundabout. There are some that believe this sector
could be hard hit by the outcome.

James Dyson was perhaps the lone figure from the British tech scene
supporting Brexit, but a spokeswoman for his company, which makes vacuum
cleaners and hand air-dryers, said Friday that the firm would not be
"issuing any comments at the moment."

Microsoft, which was a staunch supporter of the remain campaign, also
declined to comment following the results.

Outside of the direct line of tech fire, Michael Ryan, chairman of the
Independent Film and Television Alliance, believes Brexit will prove "a
major blow" to the UK's film and TV industry.

"This decision has just blown up our foundation -- as of today, we no
longer know how our relationships with co-producers, financiers and
distributors will work, whether new taxes will be dropped on our activities in
the rest of Europe or how production financing is going to be raised without
any input from European funding agencies," he told Variety.