Publications

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Lincoln Network Operations Manager – Job Listing

December 6, 2022 | Grace Meyer

Lincoln Network was founded to help bridge the gap between policymakers and innovators, and advance a more perfect union between technology and the American republic. We see our value proposition in cross-pollination, network building, and translation between groups that don’t speak the same language. Our work includes helping innovators understand the policy world, and bringing

December 2, 2022 | Dan Lips

This piece was originally published in National Review. With Republicans set to control the House of Representatives in 2023, President Biden will no longer be able to count on passing large legislative packages to achieve his policy aims. If he continues the practices of his predecessors for decades, that will mean an increased reliance on

December 1, 2022 | Lars Schönander

This piece was originally published in the Wall Street Journal. In one of the latest moves in the U.S.-China great-power competition, the Defense Department revealed in October that DJI, a Chinese drone company, is on its “Chinese military companies” list, which tracks companies working with the People’s Liberation Army. This reflects a growing, and justified, concern with

November 29, 2022 | Zach Graves

Click here to download the full report in PDF format. Introduction At the beginning of each Congress, lawmakers in the majority have the opportunity to set priorities and implement operational and institutional reforms through the House rules package. This report is the result of many conversations with congressional experts on what we believe are ideas that can

November 29, 2022 | Evan Swarztrauber

This piece was originally published in Multichannel News. Ever since the Titanic sank, the U.S. government has regulated the airwaves within its borders. After the Titanic’s distress signal was drowned out by amateur radio operators, Congress passed the Radio Act of 1912, putting an end to the era of a “cacophony of competing voices, none of

November 29, 2022 | Dan Lips

This piece was originally published in the Federalist Society blog. In the recent election, Americans elected a narrowly divided Congress. That means that lawmakers will need to work together on bipartisan legislation if they want to address the nation’s challenges. With the highest inflation in 40 years and ballooning federal debt payments, lawmakers have a responsibility

November 21, 2022 | Geoff Cain

This piece was originally published in American Affairs. Once a technology star, Zhao Weiguo rose fast and fell hard. For the last eight years, Zhao’s semiconductor manufacturer, the Tsinghua Unigroup, had fanfare, ambition, large-scale state backing, and an affiliation with China’s most prestigious institution of higher learning, Tsinghua University. All this made Zhao the face and

November 21, 2022 | Luke Hogg

This piece was originally published in Cointelegraph. On Nov. 11, while the rest of the country was celebrating Veteran’s Day, Sam Bankman-Fried announced that FTX — one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by volume — had filed for bankruptcy. Lawmakers and pundits quickly latched onto the rapid disintegration of FTX to call for more regulation

November 18, 2022 | Geoff Cain

Click here to download a PDF of the letter. We write as U.S. foreign policy and national security professionals concerned about countering the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s malign influence to support the inclusion of the Establishing New Authorities for Businesses Laundering and Enabling Risks to Security (ENABLERS) Act in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal

November 17, 2022 | Luke Hogg

This paper was originally published in the CPI TechREG Chronicle. The concentration of the Internet economy behind the walled gardens of a select few companies has led policymakers across the political spectrum to call for congressional action. However, most legislation proposed thus far takes an overly punitive approach to Big Tech that is unlikely to create

November 16, 2022 | Geoff Cain

This piece was originally published in Common Sense. The midterm elections of 2022 were many things—a shocker for Republicans, the possible end of Donald Trump, a win for centrist Democrats. Overlooked is the fact that they were also a big turning point for TikTok, the Chinese social-media platform. TikTok is not only the most trafficked news

November 16, 2022 | Geoff Cain

This piece was originally published in the Wall Street Journal. On Feb. 22, 2019, a man calling himself Matthew Chao knocked on the door of the North Korean embassy in Madrid, with a gift for the embassy’s highest-ranking official. The North Korean worker who answered the door escorted the visitor inside and went to fetch

November 15, 2022 | Zach Graves

Click here to download the full report in PDF format. About the report The start of a new Congress can be a significant opportunity for operational reform and modernization. This is particularly true for the House of Representatives, which come January will elect its Speaker and officers, and adopt new rules and protocols. This gives members, and intra-party

The Unmasking of Manipulative AI

November 10, 2022 | Deepesh Chaudhari

The potential for automated influence operations, in which AI systems are designed to manipulate humans, is real and deserves our attention. As AI systems proliferate in creating media and interactive experiences, the opportunities for manipulative persuasion and harmful social consequences will increase. In particular, machine learning (ML) progress in text and video generation could dramatically

The Future of Twitter is Open, or Bust

November 7, 2022 | Richard Reisman

This piece was originally published in Tech Policy Press. Elon Musk owns Twitter. Or rather, whatever is left of it after today’s massive layoffs. It’s hard to see any future for the company at this point, particularly as its twin challenges of content moderation and revenue sustainability are deeply intertwined. As a business, Twitter is facing substantial financial obstacles,

November 4, 2022 | Jon Askonas

This piece was originally published in UnHerd. Elon Musk has promised that Twitter’s lords and peasants system (i.e. verification) will be coming to an end. The new CEO said that verified “bluecheck” users would now be subject to a monthly fee of $8. Discussion of the proposal exploded with (broadly) media-adjacent people saying that the changes would effectively destroy Twitter and (broadly)

October 28, 2022 | Lars Schönander

This piece was originally published in The Hill. In August 2022, thanks to an investigation by the Daily Beast, a University of Maryland, College Park professor was revealed to have received a six-figure grant from Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce company, to build surveillance software. This would be concerning enough, but to make matters worse, the professor was

October 27, 2022 | Jonathon Hauenschild

Click here to download a PDF of the paper. Click here to download the policy brief. Executive Summary Federal and state governments have been working for decades to close the digital divide—the gap between those who have access to broadband and those who do not. In recent years, governments have ramped up their efforts, with spending and the number

October 21, 2022 | Lars Schönander

In a time of pronounced volatility in energy markets as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war and recent production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+), it’s important that we have reliable data on the operations of energy companies. Thanks to a successful Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, we’re one step

October 18, 2022 | Dan Lips

This piece was originally published in the SCIF, the blog of the National Security Institute. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, signed into law earlier this year, creates a new reporting regime for American colleges and universities, requiring them to disclose contributions from foreign sources to the National Science Foundation (NSF) if they also receive

October 14, 2022 | Ariel Deschapell

This piece was originally published in Bitcoin Magazine. The idea that Bitcoin lacks innovation compared to other cryptocurrencies is pervasive, but is it true? The Bitcoin protocol undergoes significant changes much more slowly than other cryptocurrencies, the latest, of course, being the implementation and activation of Taproot. But this is a feature, not a bug. As the foundation

October 14, 2022 | Geoff Cain

This piece was originally published in the Wall Street Journal. After many grueling nights designing and building a car in “makeshift tents,” Elon Musk emerged with a prescient lesson for Tesla. “The issue is not about coming up with a car design—it’s absolutely about the production system,” Mr. Musk said in 2019, during the unveiling

October 11, 2022 | Deepesh Chaudhari

AI has the potential to significantly improve our lives in many ways, but it also poses significant risks. On the one hand, technological advances in how computer systems can execute tasks that traditionally require human intelligence have an unprecedented potential to benefit humanity in countless ways. AI has already led to medical, transportation, and education

October 11, 2022 | Mike Wacker

This piece was originally published in the Burner Files. In a line from the cartoon Futurama that later became a viral meme, Hermes won a promotion to a grade 37 bureaucrat for uncovering a form that had been incorrectly stamped only four times. The head bureaucrat said, “You are technically correct, the best kind of correct.” When it comes

This Land is Beijing’s Land

October 11, 2022 | Lars Schönander

This piece was originally published in the American Mind. Foreign ownership of American farmland has raised bipartisan concern from all levels of government, from governors like Ron DeSantis of Florida to senators such as Iowa’s Chuck Grassley and Michigan’s Debbie Stabenow. Foreign ownership of American farmland went from 1 percent in 2000 to 2.9 percent in 2020, a 290 percent

October 11, 2022 | Lars Schönander

By Lars Schönander and Dan Lips Click here to download a PDF version of the paper. Executive Summary There is growing bipartisan recognition that American higher education is vulnerable to foreign influence and exploitation. During the 117th Congress, the House of Representatives and Senate passed legislation that would have strengthened Section 117 of the Higher Education Act

October 11, 2022 | Lars Schönander

This piece was originally published in The Hill. The 117th Congress will be remembered as a polarized time, but a recent bipartisan effort to protect U.S. agriculture from foreign investments offers a reminder of the potential for cooperation across the aisle. Recent months have seen prominent Republicans and Democrats alike recognize the importance of knowing what

October 10, 2022 | Ryan Khurana

On September 22, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) called on the National Security Advisor (NSA) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to restrict access to open-source generative AI models in response to the release of Stable Diffusion by Stability AI. Stable Diffusion is an open-source text-to-image AI that allows for the creation of

Why Conservatism Failed

October 7, 2022 | Jon Askonas

This piece was originally published in Compact. Since the rise of the modern conservative movement, its adherents have championed a Burkean respect for the hard-won wisdom of the organic social order. From William F. Buckley to Roger Scruton, conservative intellectuals have advocated for a defense of tradition under assault from the rationalistic, scientific pretensions of modern

Quarterly Activities Update

October 5, 2022 | Zach Graves

Dear friend of Lincoln: I’d like to share with you some of our team’s recent activities, including new research from Lincoln Policy, project updates from Lincoln Studio, and other developments across Lincoln Network. As we prepare for next week’s Reboot conference, take a look at what the Lincoln team has been working on over the

How Stewart Made Tucker

October 5, 2022 | Jon Askonas

This piece was originally published in the New Atlantis. Jon Stewart has a dream where he walks out onto the brightly lit set of a new TV show. He has worked for years to build this show. It’s the answer to everything wrong with the news media. For decades, Americans were fed a news diet

September 30, 2022 | Zach Graves

We’re excited to announce Lincoln Network’s third cohort of Policy Hackers: ten tech professionals from around the country who are passionate about bridging 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. The programming is aimed at

September 27, 2022 | Dan Lips

This piece was originally published in The Hill. National security leaders routinely warn that the United States faces growing cyber threats. Managing risks will require expertise in the public and private sector to improve security. But there are currently more than 700,000 open cybersecurity positions across the country. That includes nearly 39,000 open government jobs. Federal and

Keep Politics Out of Money

September 27, 2022 | Robert Bellafiore

This piece was originally published in City Journal. The Currency of Politics: The Political Theory of Money from Aristotle to Keynes, by Stefan Eich (Princeton University Press, 344 pp., $35) Political neutrality has come under attack in recent years. For neutrality’s critics, rules that allegedly exist to protect speech, property, or civil rights actually serve

September 16, 2022 | Jonathon Hauenschild

As Congress returns from the August and Labor Day recess, competition policies may be high on the priority list, with Sen. Klobuchar reintroducing the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act and likely lobbying Sen. Chuck Schumer for a vote on her American Innovation and Choice Online Act. Before considering legislation, though, Congress should take a close

September 14, 2022 | Geoff Cain

Click here to download a PDF of the full testimony. Social Media’s Impact on Homeland Security Chairman Peters, Ranking Member Portman, and Members of the Committee: It is an honor to be invited to testify here on social media’s impact on national security. Today, I will talk about one of the greatest technological threats facing

September 13, 2022 | Jonathon Hauenschild

This piece was originally published in Newsweek. Social media platforms are having a tough time. First, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt released a trove of documents strongly suggesting the companies coordinated with the government to suppress information about COVID-19. Then, Google announced it would not list Truth Social in its Play Store due to “insufficient content moderation” practices, particularly those terms prohibiting violent

Screen Test

September 9, 2022 | Jon Askonas

This piece was originally published in Return. For years, Americans and Europeans have been warned of the growing power and reach of Russian information warfare. From the Brexit referendum to the election of Donald Trump, there was hardly an important election Putin hadn’t hacked. Western experts had warned for years about hybrid warfare, blending disinformation, astroturfed

China Is Buying the Farm

September 9, 2022 | Lars Schönander

This piece was originally published in The Wall Street Journal. Alarms went off in Washington when the Fufeng Group, a Chinese agricultural company, bought 300 acres of land and set up a milling plant last spring in Grand Forks, N.D. The plant is a 20-minute drive from an Air Force base that, according to North Dakota Sen.

September 8, 2022 | Jonathon Hauenschild

With the Federal Trade Commission’s recent effort to block the merger between Meta and fitness app developer Within, the Democratic leadership of the FTC is showing its preference for playing politics rather than protecting consumers. The Commission argues that the merger would give Meta a dominant position in the market for “dedicated VR fitness apps.”