A jury has found a man dubbed the 'rideshare rapist' guilty of sexual assault and violence, bringing a measure of justice to victims who endured horrific attacks from someone exploiting the trust built into app-based transportation.

Good. Lock him up.

But let's not pretend a guilty verdict is the end of the conversation. It's the beginning of a much harder one about public safety, accountability, and what we actually expect from the platforms that have become essential infrastructure in our daily lives.

Rideshare companies have spent years lobbying for lighter regulation, arguing they're technology platforms — not transportation companies. That distinction matters, because it shifts responsibility. When a taxi company hires a predator, there's a clear chain of liability. When a gig platform does it, the legal picture gets murkier, and victims often find themselves navigating a maze of arbitration clauses and corporate PR statements.

San Francisco is the birthplace and headquarters of the rideshare revolution. We love the convenience. We love the innovation. But innovation without accountability isn't progress — it's negligence with better branding.

Here's what we should be asking: Are background check requirements rigorous enough? Are there meaningful consequences for platforms when their screening processes fail? And why does it always take a criminal conviction before anyone in Sacramento or City Hall starts paying attention?

This isn't a call for heavy-handed regulation that crushes the gig economy. It's a call for the bare minimum: ensuring that the companies profiting from putting strangers in cars together are doing everything reasonable to make sure those strangers are safe.

The jury did its job. The victims showed extraordinary courage. Now it's on lawmakers and these billion-dollar companies to do theirs — before the next predator slips through the cracks.

Convenience should never come at the cost of safety. Period.