The Internet Education Foundation is proud to partner with Vocativ, a cutting edge media and technology company, for the Snowden Effect series of events. This media partnership will lead to significant exposure for both the series and the tech policy issues raised by it. In addition, Kevin Collier, Vocativ’s Sr. Privacy and Security reporter, will be moderating our final Snowden Effect event on October 28th covering government surveillance.
The Snowden Effect Series tackles three distinct but inter-related technology policy issues that have been thrust into the spotlight since Edward Snowden’s 2013 revelations. Each event is hosted by one of three IEF projects. The first event on Data Localization, “What Nationality is Your Data?” was hosted by State of the Net. The second, on corporate transparency and subpoena compliance, “The Changing Landscape of Subpoenas, Transparency and Trust” was co-hosted by the Internet Law and Policy Foundry and New America’s Open Technology Institute, while our final event, dealing with government surveillance, “The Future of Surveillance Laws, One Year After USA FREEDOM”, will be hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee.
For more about the Snowden Effect series, our upcoming event, and audio and video recordings of our previous two events, check out our special minisite. To sign up for Vocativ’s newsletter, click here http://www.vocativ.com/324278/vocativ-newsletter/.
Stay tuned for an upcoming special look at the work Vocativ has done on these important internet policy issues so far, as well as a Q&A with one of our Snowden Effect distinguished panelists.
In June 2013 former NSA contractor Edward Snowden set in motion a torrent of revelations of the NSA’s electronic surveillance capabilities and practices. Through 2013, news outlets and social media poured out wave after wave of articles detailing classified government programs with names like PRISM, MonsterMind, Bulk Collection, and Boundless Informant. The scope of the programs revealed was breathtaking. Internet companies and other world leaders publicly expressed outrage when documents showed that private communications had been compromised. This had immediate ripple effects in business, government, and our national security.
Three years later we’re gathering a slew of experts to reflect upon the effects of those revelations — the Snowden Effects.
The revelations have lead to a repositioning of global partnerships, a deeper conversation about the role of government, a thorough reexamination at our fundamental rights, liberties and principles, and a sober realization that the world may not be as safe a place as we would like it to be.
This 3-part series — presented by the Internet Education Foundation (IEF) — focuses on the resultant changes put in motion by Edward Snowden’s revelations — rather than the man himself. The “Snowden Effect” series shines a light on three distinct but inter-related areas: government surveillance reform, de-cloudification and data localization, and commercial trust and transparency. Our cross-IEF event series will be presented under three of our main programs, the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, the Internet Law and Policy Foundry and the State of the Net Series.
Join us on September 27th, at the Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center for What Nationality is Your Data?, our first event, set under the banner of State of the Net. We will announce our panelists shortly.
Date: Tuesday, September 27th, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Location: Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center, 901 K Street, 11th Floor, Washington, DC 20001 Register: Via Eventbrite here. Website: www.neted.org/snowden.html Follow:@SOTN | #SnowdenEffect
The Internet Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported by public interest groups, corporations, and associations representative of the diversity of the Internet community. The mission of the IEF is to assure informed policymaking on Internet-related issues within both government and the private sector, promote the Internet as a valuable medium for democratic participation, communications, and commerce, and educate the public about the challenges and problems presented by the Internet medium and offer potential solutions.
“Government hacking has already happened. The question of whether it should happen is actually way past the point,” – Harley Geiger, director of public policy at Rapid 7, an Internet security company.
“no matter who found the vulnerabilities, we want to tackle the problem.” – Heather West, senior policy manager of the tech nonprofit Mozilla
“At the end of the day, if we can fix this problem, the Internet is safer.” – Heather West, senior policy manager of the tech nonprofit Mozilla
eWeek wrote about our panel on “Data Warrants Across The Pond” noting:
The day the Department of Justice lost its case before the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York, in which it was seeking to force Microsoft to turn over email content stored on a server in Ireland, it presented a plan to sidestep those limits with new legislation. … The DOJ revealed its plans at a meeting of the Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus.
Today during our debate on “Data Warrants Across the Pond: Envisioning A More Sustainable Process” representatives from the USDOJ and UK released a white paper titled “Proposed United States – United Kingdom Agreement on Secure and Privacy – Protective Exchange of Electronic Data for the Purposes of Countering Serious Crime, Including Terrorism.” The proposal comes one day after the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decided the long awaited Microsoft v. U.S. decision.
The panel debated the issues and discussed the proposal in front of a packed room of Congressional staff.
The video, audio, photos of the debate are available here.
2016 CONGRESSIONAL APP CHALLENGE CO-CHAIRS ANNOUNCED Representatives Royce and Moulton will spearhead student coding contest
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Congressional Internet Caucus and the Internet Education Foundation announced the new Congressional Co-Chairs for the 2016 Congressional App Challenge (CAC), U.S. Representatives Ed Royce (R-CA) and Seth Moulton (D-MA):
“As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a representative from the world’s innovation capital, I know how important a STEM proficient workforce is to the United States remaining an economic powerhouse. I encourage all of my colleagues to participate in the Congressional App Challenge, an excellent opportunity to recognize talented young people learning the skills being used to build the future,” said U.S. Representative Ed Royce (R-CA).
“We are currently on track to reach a million unfilled programming jobs by 2020. These jobs and skills are crucial to the innovation economy,” said Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA). “I’m excited to serve as co-chair of the Congressional App Challenge with Rep. Ed Royce to encourage students across the country to learn how to code. This challenge is a nationwide effort to open up those opportunities to students in every community, and I look forward to seeing what they create.”
The 2016 CAC will take place from July 18 – November 2, 2016. Officially in its second year, the Congressional App Challenge is a bipartisan congressional initiative to improve student engagement in coding and computer science. Particular efforts are made to engage those students from groups and regions that are underrepresented in the tech community. Students can create their apps on any platform, working alone or in teams of up to four. Winning apps are selected by local judges, and the student winners will be honored by their Congressional representatives and have their apps put on display in the Capitol Building.
In 2015, over 1700 high school students from 32 states signed up to compete. The students submitted nearly 500 original apps, with 116 Congressional districts hosting successful local challenges. The House of Representatives displays the winning apps online at:http://www.house.gov/content/educate/app_challenge/.
The Congressional App Challenge is coordinated by the Internet Education Foundation and sponsored by Capital One, Intel, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services. Challenge efforts are guided by our esteemed Advisory Board, which includes Kimberly Snipes, Vice President of Consumer Products and Operations, Capital One; Monique Morrow, Chief Technology Officer, Cisco Systems; Jose Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO, Hispanic Heritage Foundation; Kathy DeerInWater, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Research, American Indian Science and Engineering Society; Emmeline Cardozo, Associate Director of Partner Engagement, Girls Who Code; and Mark Nelson, Executive Director, Computer Science Teachers Association.
###
Representative Royce serves California’s 39th Congressional District, which encompasses parts of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties. He is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee.
Representative Moulton serves Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District. He served four tours in Iraq as a Marine Corps infantry officer and was elected to Congress in 2014. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Budget Committee and the House Small Business Committee.
If you are interested in supporting the 2016 Congressional App Challenge, please contact CAC Executive Director Rhianon Anderson at [email protected].
Today is Safer Internet Day, a day hosted by Connect Safely and celebrated around the world to advocate for building a safer internet for users of all ages. Awareness of internet activity, privacy, and use is important year round, but for one day we ask you to get involved, focus on good-deeds, and lead young people in our theme of “playing your part for a better Internet”. Connecting people and practicing safer and responsible online action can help grow a better community. By expressing kindness and positivity, together we can increase our visibility and impact people around the world.
Our challenge for you is to do at least one Good Thing on the internet today.
Think of a Good Thing (big or small) that makes the Internet a better place or the world a better place using the Internet.
Share your one Good Thing online with the hashtag #SIDUS16 to increase good things around the world.
Join all of us in celebrating Safer Internet Day to create efforts, big and small, and make the Internet a better place and the world a better place using the Internet and connected media!
Congress Moves To Foster Youth Computer Science Skills, District by District
For Immediate Release
November 9, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC – The Congressional App Challenge, a congressional initiative to improve student engagement in coding and computer science, is launching today and will run through January 15, 2016.
Representatives Mimi Walters and Hakeem Jeffries co-chair the 2015 Congressional App Challenge (CAC). Over a quarter of the House of Representatives have signed up to host student app contests in their districts. Currently, 116 Representatives from 37 states have signed up, and more are expected to do so in the coming days.
During the next 10 weeks, high school students in participating Congressional districts will create and submit their own original “apps” that will be judged by panels of local judges. The Judging Period will last from January 16 to February 12, 2016 and the Members of Congress will announce the winners on February 22, 2016. Winners will be honored by their Member of Congress and have their apps featured on a display in the Capitol building.
In 2014, students from 84 districts submitted apps in their local contests; this year, we aim to expand upon that success by doubling the number of submissions. Recognizing the racial, gendered, and other disparities in the tech sector, the CAC will also emphasize inclusivity. Deliberate efforts will be made to include students from all backgrounds, including those traditionally underrepresented in the tech community.
The CAC was created by the U.S. House of Representatives to engage U.S. high school student in coding and computer science. The CAC was created because Congress recognizes how essential computer science and STEM skills are for economic growth and innovation, and that the U.S. is currently experiencing a dearth of adequately trained technical talent. According to some estimates, the U.S. may be short as many as 3 million high-skilled workers by 2018. The CAC is a congressional effort to maintain American competitiveness, by proactively inspiring our youth and encouraging them to pursue these crucial STEM-based skills.
The 2015 CAC is only possible thanks to the leadership of the House of Representatives over the last several years. Specifically, Committee on House Administration Chairwoman Candice Miller and Ranking Member Robert Brady worked hard to authorize the CAC and Representatives Bob Goodlatte and Anna G. Eshoo, co-chairs of the Congressional Internet Caucus, requested the creation of the CAC (the also served as its inaugural co-chairs in 2014). Of course, this year Representatives Mimi Walters and Hakeem Jeffries are serving as the CAC co-chairs.
For further information about the Congressional App Challenge, please visit CongressionalAppChallenge.us. If you are interested getting more involved or in supporting the Congressional App Challenge, please contact Rhianon Anderson at [email protected].
Video and audio podcast from our March 12 #CryptoConvo panel discussion are now available. Watch the video on our YouTube Channel and stream audio on our website or your favorite podcast service. You can also subscribe to the ICAC iTunes podcast channel for all of our policy panel discussions.
Thank you to the Internet Society for providing the video recording and to our panelists and all in attendance for the event!
Meerkat is a free application that live-streams directly from mobile devices through Twitter. By simply following the link to the broadcast on our Twitter account @NetCaucusAC with your mobile device, you will be able to watch the briefing in real time (barring any technical difficulties). Watch from your Apple or Android device — just download the app and find the link on @NetCaucusAC!
