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July 6, 2020 | Dan Lips

Americans’ Inexperience with Voting By Mail Creates Risks

States should expand absentee balloting but prevent ballot harvesting  Forty-six states and the District of Columbia will allow all voters to cast their ballots by mail in November’s election. But a recent analysis from the Pew Research Center shows that most American have not voted by mail–increasing the risk that ballot harvesting will affect election
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June 30, 2020 | Alexiaa Jordan

FCC Moves to Ban Huawei and ZTE from Receiving Federal Subsidies—But More Action Is Needed

Today the Federal Communications Commission formally designated Chinese telecommunication firms Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation—and their parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries—as posing national security threats. This move prohibits the use of the $8.3 billion Universal Service Fund, to acquire or maintain equipment from these companies. The FCC’s move to finalize this designation is an important
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June 25, 2020 | Dan Lips

Voting-by-Mail Shows Why Real Bipartisan Postal Reform is Necessary

In January 2017, former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson designated election infrastructure to be critical infrastructure. At the time, he was focused on preventing cyber threats from disrupting the electoral process. But three years later, the most critical infrastructure for holding the 2020 election may be one of the nation’s oldest institutions: the U.S. Postal Service.
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June 24, 2020 | Dan Lips

Bipartisan Coalition of Senators Introduces Legislation to Protect Inspector General Independence

On Thursday, Senator Chuck Grassley and nine bipartisan co-sponsors introduced legislation to protect federal watchdogs’ independence. The “Securing Inspector General Independence Act of 2020” comes at a critical time of declining public confidence in government and demonstrates Congressional commitment to independent oversight.  in a recent article for The Hill, my former colleague Keith Ashdown and
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June 16, 2020 | Joel Thayer

Congress Should Support the FCC’s Plan to Auction Off C-Band

To ensure that I am behaving responsibly during this COVID-19 pandemic these past few months, I have mostly positioned myself on my couch where my live-in girlfriend and I exhaust all that online streaming services have to offer. Don’t believe me? Well, we are currently streaming ABC’s “Once Upon A Time.” For the unfamiliar, the
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June 12, 2020 | Sean Roberts

Delays In Counting Ballots Causes Confusion with Voters

Communication on the Vote by Mail Process is Required For The Public Trust  Across the county vote by mail elections are being ramped up to protect people from having to make the choice of getting sick or doing their civic duty by voting.  There has been a rush to accommodate the demand for vote by
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May 13, 2020 | Dan Lips

USAID’s Timely Digital Strategy

Recognizing the Need to Confront the Global Spread of Digital Authoritarianism The U.S. Agency for International Development recently unveiled a new digital strategy—detailing plans to leverage technology in foreign aid investments to support countries’ transition to self-reliance. The new approach comes as the United States reconsiders how to answer authoritarian sharp power and promote American
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May 13, 2020 | Joel Thayer

Separating Fact from Fiction on the FCC’s Approach to Spectrum

We Shouldn’t Let Territorial Federal Agencies Override a Pro-Innovation Decision by the FCC Senator Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., gave a speech on the Senate floor yesterday attacking the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) unanimously approved Order granting Ligado’s application to modify its license. Sen. Inhofe argues: I think by now it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone
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May 11, 2020 | Marshall Kosloff

How to Build

In response to Marc Andreessen’s essay It’s Time to Build, Lincoln Network hosted A Time to Build? Institutional Failure and Reform After COVID-19. Marshall Kosloff, Lincoln’s director of outreach and media moderated the webinar panel with Eli Dourado, Mark Lutter, and Marci Harris. We believe that Andreessen’s call to build and reform our institutions has
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May 1, 2020 | Alexiaa Jordan

TechCongress Is Now Accepting Applications for its Congressional Digital Service Fellowship

“Out of 3,500 congressional staff, less than 20 have any technical background. Decent governance in the 21st century REQUIRES talented technologists to serve in government. ” — Travis Moore, Founder and Director of TechCongress Now, TechCongress has launched a new Congressional Digital Service Fellowship for experienced technologists. Here’s what they’re looking for: Commitment to helping
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May 1, 2020 | Alexiaa Jordan

Tech Initiatives Helping the Nation During COVID-19

Here at Lincoln, we believe technologists and innovators have an important role to play in addressing our nation’s most pressing problems. So we wanted to highlight tech companies that are supporting our nation and providing services to communities that are struggling. We’ve created a Wiki highlighting the ways that the industry has mobilized to confront the virus.
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April 30, 2020 | Marshall Kosloff

Video: A Time to Build? Institutional Failure and Reform After COVID-19

Marshall Kosloff, Director of Outreach and Media for Lincoln Network, moderated a virtual panel featuring the following distinguished guests, Eli Dourado, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity. Marci Harris, CEO, and Co-Founder of PopVoxMark Lutter, Founder and Executive Director of the Charter Cities Institute The event was inspired by Marc Andreessen,
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April 30, 2020 | Zach Graves

New CRS report offers an authoritative review of the current debate over OTA

Charting a path forward for enhanced science and technology expertise in Congress Yesterday the Congressional Research Service published a 71 page report, “The Office of Technology Assessment: History, Authorities, Issues, and Options.” As its title suggests, the report covers the history of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), recent legislative activity, and the recommendations from
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April 28, 2020 | Zach Graves

Policy Update for March-April

The following post was originally set as an email newsletter to our friends and supporters. Re: Lincoln Policy Team Activities for March-April 2020 Dear friends and supporters of Lincoln: Thanks for tuning in again. After narrowly making it back from vacationing in Portugal, I’ve been spending a lot of time getting our new CRM and
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April 28, 2020 | Dan Lips

Boost state government cyber defenses by streamlining federal rules

Harmonizing cybersecurity regulations imposed on state governments was a good idea before the pandemic. Now, it should be a top priority to help states address current challenges and defend the 2020 election. State governments are facing unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic. While saving lives and addressing urgent public health needs remains the focus, state
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April 28, 2020 | Jordan McGillis

Soft Power Meets Sharp Power

Chinese State Influence on American Companies   U.S.-China relations are in a period of high tension, with the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 being the most recent in a litany of flashpoints. The spread of the lethal coronavirus from Wuhan comes amid an ongoing trade dispute and increased U.S. attention on repression in the province of Xinjiang
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April 27, 2020 | Alexiaa Jordan

Video: GDPR 2 Years Later

Featuring: *Matthias Bauer, PhD, Senior Economist at the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) – will cover the interplay between Digital Services Taxes and GDPR *Philip Thompson, Policy Analyst with the Property Rights Alliance – will cover GDPR as a barrier to trade *Alexiaa Jordan, Policy Analyst with Lincoln Network – will cover CCPA and US privacy regimes as they relate to GDPR *Eline Chivot, Senior Policy Analyst at ITIF Center for Data Innovation – will cover the current status of GDPR and its effects 2 years later *Andreas Hellmann, International Advocacy Manager at Americans for Tax Reform Foundation *Katie McAuliffe, Executive Director, Digital Liberty – moderator
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April 23, 2020 | Lars Schönander

FCC votes unanimously to open 6 GHz for unlicensed use

Today the Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to adopt rules making 1200 MHz of spectrum in the 6 GHz band available for use by unlicensed technologies. There are tremendous benefits for both industry and consumers in making more available spectrum for use by unlicensed technologies, such as Wi-Fi, where it will permit more users to
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April 22, 2020 | Dan Lips

A First Step to Upgrade “8-Track” Government Systems

Removing regulatory barriers to allow federal and state agencies to work together is a good start  Writing in the Wall Street Journal this weekend, Andy Kessler described how wasted tax dollars and outdated IT systems are hindering the nation’s ability to address the COVID-19 pandemic, pointing to alarming examples at the state and federal level.
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April 21, 2020 | Zach Graves

Mock Hearing Convenes Experts to Discuss Remote Proceedings

Former members of Congress participated in a “Mock Remote Hearing” exercise to test the viability of online proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was co-chaired by Former Rep. Brian Baird [D, WA] and Former Rep. Bob Inglis [R, SC] and co-hosted by AEI, The Brookings Institution, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, Georgetown University,
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April 20, 2020 | Joel Thayer

Deregulatory Efforts at the FCC Will Fuel Innovation

By Joel Thayer and Garrett Johnson Shelter-in-place America depends on an internet economy powered by tech company innovations. However, digital innovation relies on the existence of strong broadband networks. With the adoption of 5G, tech companies need priority access arrangements for essential services such as autonomous vehicles and telemedicine to operate successfully. That said, if
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April 16, 2020 | Joel Thayer

FCC takes action to free up underutilized spectrum

More spectrum will help pave the way for IoT and 5G FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s announcement that he had circulated a draft order to approve Ligado Network’s application is a welcomed one. Granting Ligado’s application would modify its license to allow the company to deploy a low-power terrestrial network for 5G and IoT by leveraging
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April 16, 2020 | Garrett Johnson

SBA.gov vs. Instacart – Collapsing IT Infrastructure During Covid 19

Exploding demand for government assistance at nearly every level has strained many old technology systems to the point of crashing, causing millions of Americans nightmares. Any startup would dream of the hockey-stick traffic spikes experienced by state unemployment pages or by the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) since mid-March, but the current crisis provides another
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April 15, 2020 | Zach Graves

Announcing the 2020 Policy Hackers Cohort

We’re excited announce Lincoln Network’s inaugural cohort of Policy Hackers–10 tech professionals from around the country passionate about helping bridge the gap between innovators and policymakers. Fellows will remain in their current roles while engaging with policy experts, lobbyists, academics, and government officials throughout the year-long program, including summits in DC and the Bay Area.
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April 6, 2020 | Dan Lips

Bipartisan Leadership Needed to Prepare for the November Election

Since 2016, national leaders have worked to prepare for the 2020 election—anticipating foreign adversaries again working to use cyber operations to influence and interfere with the democratic process. But no one predicted the challenges posed by the Coronavirus outbreak. Holding a presidential election during a pandemic could test the nation’s current capacity for self-government. Government
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April 1, 2020 | Sean Roberts

Vote by Mail is a solution not without risks

A Vote by Mail election is a solution not without risks. Various US Congressional bills over the past couple of months have  proposed permanently making Vote by Mail and other elections provisions the law of the land. While Vote by Mail could be a good solution for the social distancing issues brought on by the
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March 20, 2020 | Zach Graves

So You Want to Work for Uncle Sam?

Lincoln has a new Wiki to help technology professionals find ways to get involved in government (at least for a year or two) The state and federal government requires the work of technologists more now than ever. From improving data reporting at the US Census to rebuilding the Federal Election Commission’s website to make the
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March 6, 2020 | Lars Schönander

How Platforms Drive Innovation

One creates b2b software, the other disrupted the taxi industry. What Shopify and Uber share in common is the status as unicorn companies while they were private. Shopify at IPO was valued around $1 Billion Dollars, with Uber being valued around $72 billion dollars.   Shopify has had a rewarding post IPO life, with the
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