Regulatory framework: Why do big tech companies need to be regulated?

Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and other tech companies have been asking policymakers for clearly defined guidelines for years. But why are innovators looking to the public sector to say what’s okay and what’s not? Do all big tech firms want to be regulated? Or do they only want certain aspects of their activities to be monitored? Have they been self-regulating since the beginning? How should governments respond? Is a common standard for the tech sector even possible?