Front running and HFT are two different things. Front running implies that you have access to the orders or other information and the ability to get your order

Front running and HFT are two different things. Front running implies that you have access to the orders or other information and the ability to get your order in ahead of others. This is at worst, illegal as you're trading on non-public information (if you get an earnings report early), and at best, bad for business as front running would be a "tax" on every stock being sold on an exchange. This basically means that the exchange becomes less valuable (because you have to pay more for that exchange) and other brokers have the ability to offer "lower" prices for the same stock at the same moment in time as they can say that they're not providing advanced information. Not to say that it doesn't happen, but there is some "magic hand of the market" involved. Front running is accomplished by HFT, but not all HFT is front running. HFT is simply the ability to execute trades quickly on new information, like earnings reports, fed meeting notes, etc. HFT back in the 17th century would simply have been having the fastest couriers and horses to carry news, now it's having the fastest software and data connections. HFT has a couple beneficial sides too, as it tightens the bid/ask spread. Basically don't confuse a technology that can be used for bad purposes, to be the problem, blame the brokers and the regulators that allow it to happen.