Announcements

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Diversity At State of the Net 2022

Last month we were thrilled to convene the Internet stakeholder community at the 18th annual State of the Net Conference, the nation’s most prominent Internet policy summit.

Speakers at SOTN reflect different perspectives on Internet policy issues. We have long curated the program to highlight differences of opinion among experts from across the spectrum of industry, government, academia, and civil society. 

We have made strides over the years to bring more diverse voices to the table at State of the Net. We’ve made great progress in some areas and have made incremental improvements in others. In other areas, we haven’t made much of a dent and we need to do better. In the interest of accountability, we’re publishing the below stats regarding speaker diversity at #SOTN2022.*

2022 sotn bipoc keynote diversity
2022 sotn bipoc speaker diversity
2022 sotn keynote gender diversity
2022 sotn speaker gender diversity

There is always room for improvement and will work harder. We will also continue our work to create a pipeline for talented Internet policy practitioners of color through the Internet Law & Policy Foundry. The Foundry, which we launched six years ago, is a professional development platform for early career professionals passionate about Internet law and policy. Diversity is a major goal in the Foundry admissions criteria for incoming fellows. We will also continue to inspire students of color to pursue careers in computer science and STEM through the Congressional App Challenge (CAC). Through the House’s official computer science competition for middle and high school students, which we administer, we work to ensure that student participation in the CAC reflects the diversity of the American people. (See impact/diversity).

* BIPOC Defined.
** Our survey of speakers at SOTN was passive. Our data is not a reflection speakers’ attestation of identity.  

Agenda, Video
SOTN 2022 is over. Here are links to the program agenda, speakers, videos.

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ICYMI: SOTN Web3 Discussions Harbinger of Biden Crypto Order

Today the Biden Administration issued a sweeping executive order on cryptocurrencies. The Order suggests a more innovation driven and holistic approach to the emerging decentralized Web, beyond cryptocurrencies. Last week’s State of the Net Conference heralded many of the elements in the Biden EO by featuring a keynote by Rep Jake Auchincloss and a panel discussion on decentralized Web issues. In case you missed it, the video and transcripts from those talks are below.

Keynote with Rep. Jake Auchincloss

Web3, Metaverse, The Decentralized Web: Is The New Internet Coming?

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Senate’s Edward J. Markey, White House’s Denice Ross to Keynote State of the Net

We are thrilled to announce Senator Ed Markey and U.S Chief Data Scientist, Denice Ross are joining this year’s list of keynoters at the 18th State of the Net Conference in Downtown DC on February 28.

Senator Markey is a consumer champion, a leader on energy, environmental protection and telecommunications policy, and has a prolific legislative record on major issues across the policy spectrum. Denice Ross is a leading figure at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy focusing on tech an data issues.

Come and join them Monday, February 28.

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🚸 Kids, Cashless Apps, & COPPA: Who’s Protecting Kids’ Fintech Privacy?

The pandemic dramatically accelerated the use of cashless apps among American kids. Postmates snacks and Panera muffins became a swipe away with payment-enabled apps. Who’s protecting kids‘ fintech privacy given that our financial and privacy laws never imagined a world where kids could buy almost anything with a wave of a smartphone? Join us at State of the Net Conference in downtown DC on February 28th to hear our expert panel figure this out.

SPEAKERS

Jamie Susskind
Tech Policy Advisor
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn

Syd Terry
Chief of Staff
Rep Jan Schakowsky

Jessica Rich
Of Counsel
Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Rick Lane
CEO
Iggy Ventures

ABOUT THE PANEL

The pandemic dramatically accelerated the use of cashless apps among American kids. During COVID parents discovered the anxiety-reducing benefits of their kids‘ smartphones. Kids could now order a Postmates snack during remote school or pay for a Panera muffin with a swipe of their phones — all with fintech enabled apps. Reports have detailed just how much personal data the market-leading debit card apps collect on children – everything from purchase history to GPS location – and how that data is used to micro-target advertisements. Who’s protecting kids‘ fintech transactions? Probably not COPPA. And the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley law was written at a time when holding a credit card was practically proof of adulthood. Congress wrote GLB for adults making financial transactions, not for kids. This panel will discuss what role policymakers and fintech companies should have to protect a child’s financial data in a cashless society.

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📢 Congressman Michael McCaul & Comcast’s Broderick Johnson To Keynote

We’re thrilled to welcome back the Internet policy community at the 18th State of the Net Conference in downtown DC on February 28th.

We have two exciting keynote speakers to announce. The new co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus, Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX), will join us in person. Congressman McCaul has long been a leader on technology issues in Congress and is currently the Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

We’ll also be joined by Broderick Johnson, Executive Vice President, Public Policy & Executive Vice President, Digital Equity at Comcast. Mr. Johnson has served two U.S. Presidents in the White House and has presided as chief counsel of several House committees.

Come and join them on Monday, February 28th.

January 2022
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🚀 Save The Date January ’22 | State of the Net In DC

State of the Net returns in January for its 18th annual Internet policy conference. We’ll be in Washington, District of Columbia. Save the date, make some travel plans, and get vaccinated.

Our conference crew is getting started building the agenda and responding to speaker requests. 

If you’re interested in sponsoring, please contact Pamela Strother at [email protected]. Send speaker requests to [email protected].

January 2022

Stay tuned for speaker announcements…

Make sure you follow @SOTN and use the hashtag #SOTN2022 on Twitter for conference updates!

Health & Safety Notice

State of the Net will be a fully vaccinated event. All registered guests speakers, vendors, and staff must show proof of vaccination in order to gain entry to event spaces. We are mindful that guidance around COVID-19 Health and Safety is ever evolving.

So we will be watching the CDC guidelines closely, as well as local District of Columbia guidelines. We will follow up with the most up to date, expert recommendations to ensure your safety. And we will continue to evolve our policy as needed, up until the event. We anticipate that we’ll hold a safe event in person.

Diversity at SOTN
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Diversity At State of the Net 2021

Two weeks ago we were thrilled to convene the Internet stakeholder community at the 17th annual State of the Net Conference, the nation’s most prominent Internet policy summit.

Speakers at SOTN reflect different perspectives on Internet policy issues. We have long curated the program to highlight differences of opinion among experts from across the spectrum of industry, government, academia, and civil society. Yet, over those 17 years the speakers at SOTN have not always sufficiently represented women and communities of color. Over the course of our 25 year history, those voices have been woefully underrepresented in Internet policy conversations.

We have made strides over the years to bring more diverse voices to the table at State of the Net. We’ve made great progress in some areas and have made incremental improvements in others. In other areas, we haven’t made much of a dent and we need to do better. In the interest of accountability, we’re publishing the below stats regarding speaker diversity at #SOTN2021.*

BIPOC Keynote Diversity SOTN2021
BIPOC Speaker Diversity SOTN2021
Gender Keynote Diversity SOTN2021
Gender Speaker Diversity SOTN2021

There is always room for improvement and will work harder. We will also continue our work to create a pipeline for talented Internet policy practitioners of color through the Internet Law & Policy Foundry. The Foundry, which we launched six years ago, is a professional development platform for early career professionals passionate about Internet law and policy. Diversity is a major goal in the Foundry admissions criteria for incoming fellows. We will also continue to inspire students of color to pursue careers in computer science and STEM through the Congressional App Challenge (CAC). Through the House’s official computer science competition for middle and high school students, which we administer, we work to ensure that student participation in the CAC reflects the diversity of the American people. (See impact/diversity).

* BIPOC Defined.
** Our survey of speakers at SOTN was passive. Our data is not a reflection speakers’ attestation of identity.  

Agenda, Video
SOTN 2021 is over. Here are links to the program agenda, speakers, videos.

 

Amy Klobuchar
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Watch: Senator Amy Klobuchar Keynote And Panel On “Tech Competition: What Can Biden Learn From The Last Tech-ade Under Obama and Trump?”

We were thrilled to have Senator Amy Klobuchar keynote State of the Net last week and preview her plans to address a range of tech policy issues including antitrust. Today she announced her antitrust reform legislation and plans for the subcommittee.

At SOTN an expert panel on antitrust and competition policy followed her comments. Antitrust reporter Leah Nylen led speakers Jennifer Huddleston, Sarah Miller, Ashley Baker, and Charlotte Slaiman. The video and transcripts for both discussions are available to watch now. See below.

Amy Klobuchar
Transcript

Tech Competition: What Can Biden Learn From The Last Tech-ade Under Obama and Trump

Transcript
Matt Lira Nick Sinai
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Civic & Gov Tech 3.0 Under Biden Featuring Matthew Lira

Using the Internet to make government more responsive and accountable to its citizens remains a stubbornly bipartisan issue. While other aspects of Internet policy have become politicized, “civic tech” is having a decade of policy support from both sides of the aisle. From the US Digital Service, 18F, the Presidential Innovation Fellowship program, and the House Modernization Committee, making government less dysfunctional and more cost effective through technology is a bright spot for Internet policy wonks. Just recently Congress passed the IT Modernization Centers of Excellence Program Act, which President Trump signed. And there seems to be a lot of well-meaning folks eager to enlist in the Biden Administration’s civic tech corps. Join us as a bipartisan group of experts discuss why such enthusiasm exists for civic tech across the aisle and what lies in store for the Biden Administration.

SPEAKERS

Matthew Lira

Matthew Lira
Former Special Assistant to the President for Innovation Policy and Initiatives
White House Office of American Innovation

Matthew Lira

Nick Sinai
Senior Advisor
Insight Partners

LISTEN

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Transcript

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