TechWonk Blog Subsection
TechWonk Blog
-
It’s easy to forget just how much technology has changed our world and our lives. A little more than a decade ago, a small business owner relied on foot traffic from local customers rather than web visits from international shoppers to grow. Drivers mapped out unfamiliar routes and took wrong turns instead of using precise, voice-activated directions to travel. Cancer patients faced an uncertain diagnosis [...]
-
States have long been considered laboratories of democracies and increasingly are becoming cradles of innovation. Governors across the country are leading the charge in leveraging emerging technologies to solve the most pressing issues facing constituents. For example, states are using mobile application technology to better respond to their constituents needs, applying blockchain technology to save [...]
-
The start of the 115th Congress and new administration not only marked an era of profound political change, but it also presented a unique and timely opportunity to modernize outdated policies. Lawmakers acted on many issues critical to the tech industry by enacting substantial reforms to bring both the U.S. federal tax code and the U.S. government procurement process into the 21st century. The Tax [...]
-
This week, President Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) and federal IT contractors should note the changes it brings for them. We commend the Senate and House’s continued commitment to acquisition reform, adopting innovative technologies to help warfighters meet their missions, and improving oversight of cybersecurity. While no single provision can [...]
-
Since it first addressed information and communication technology issues in 2015 (see paragraph 26 in the 2015 Leaders Communiqué), the G20 forum has become a critically important setting for the world’s leading governments in developed and developing countries. At this forum, the member countries have the opportunity to collaborate, outlining consensus approaches to addressing 21st century technology [...]
-
The conventional wisdom in Washington always holds to not expect much from divided government, and those expectations only lower heading into a presidential election year because hyper-partisanship can turn the landscape into frozen tundra. But for every rule there is an exception. Despite the fierce headwinds, issues that are important to the technology industry cut across party lines to find common [...]
-
As we have described in our blog series, the complex challenge of forced localization requires thoughtful, tailored solutions at both the domestic and international levels. 91proÊÓÆµ and our partners DIGITALEUROPE and JEITA—in Brussels and Tokyo, respectively—have consistently presented a united, international industry front against forced localization measures. As such, this final blog in our series outlines [...]
-
Regulators around the world are confronting the challenge of securing our increasingly connected societies and economies. The EU and China will both soon release major cybersecurity regulations and many other governments are either finalizing or drafting similar regulations. A major source of discussion in the development of these regulations involves the security implications of the location of data. [...]
-
Today, companies, individuals, governments, and institutions can instantaneously transfer information from one end of the globe to the other. Indeed, data transfers underpin the global economy, drive communications and social interaction, and form the foundation of a seemingly limitless number of data-driven technologies and services we take for granted and depend on. Unfortunately, regulators in both [...]
-
The tech industry is the most dynamic sector in history: it is highly competitive, profitable, and creates jobs around the world. Its products and services have lowered barriers to empower people in ways proven to accelerate poverty reduction, raise standards of living, and help connect people in rural areas to financial and welfare systems that had previously been in distant population centers. Technology [...]