Event Summary
While the impact of technology on our day-to-day lives has increased exponentially, technology policy has often failed to keep pace. On Wednesday at AEI, Senator John Thune (R-SD) emphasized America’s role as a global epicenter of innovation and listed the technology policy challenges Congress will need to address, including an update to the Communications Act, the Internet protocol transition, bridging the digital divide, and cybersecurity. The senator also emphasized the need for bipartisan support to maintain the tradition of light-handed regulation of the Internet ecosystem.
In three different panel discussions, AEI scholars and outside experts weighed in on policymaking by Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and international governing bodies. In the first panel, the FCC’s own Matthew Berry discussed the agency’s current partisan environment. The second panel centered on policymaking in Congress, during which panelists commented on the interests and challenges surrounding technology legislation. The third panel discussed governance of the Internet and its effect on international trade, free speech, and property rights. Overall, participants predicted that technology is one of the key areas policymakers will focus on in 2015.
–Xiyu Wang
Event Description
Please join AEI’s Center for Internet, Communications, and Technology Policy for a look ahead at the top tech policy issues of 2015. Senator John Thune (R-SD) will present a keynote address, and panels of AEI scholars and outside experts will discuss issues including net neutrality, the Communications Act, and municipal broadband, cybersecurity, Internet governance, and incentive auctions.
As tech policy issues move to the fore in the national debate, this conference will offer unique insights into the year ahead.
Join the conversation on Twitter using #ThuneatAEI.
Read Chairman Thune’s prepared remarks here.
If you are unable to attend, we welcome you to watch the event live on this page. Full video will be posted within 24 hours.