“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.
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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].
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].
The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee in the Media
A packed room and C-SPAN cameras at the July 24 event on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs)
Each Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee event this year has been broadcast live to viewers everywhere. Audio podcasts and media coverage of our events have also helped spread awareness of the key issues our expert speakers have broken down for policymakers in Washington. Here’s a quick look at how we’ve gotten out the message in 2015.
The European Internet Forum (EIF) has been working to support informed policymaking in the digital age since 2000. We commend our partners in Europe on their record of success promoting the benefits of the Internet for all EU citizens and providing a nonpartisan platform for debate.
EIF has achieved this remarkable milestone thanks to the leadership of its current and past chairs and governors including, among others, James Elles, Erika Mann, Elly Plooij-van Gorsel, and Pilar del Castillo.
Our organizations have worked together to share ideas and to explore the policy steps needed to ensure that the Internet achieves its full potential. We have been inspired and excited by the great strides made by the EIF over the last 15 years encouraging informed policy leadership and engagement on Internet policy and new technologies.
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!
Cyber Security: Will The Sharing of Threat Information Secure The Homeland or Erode Privacy?
We’ve just announced our speakers for the Friday luncheon (see below). The cyber security panel will discuss legislation that will allow the sharing of threat information and attacks. Bills on this issue will be first out of the gate this session of Congress. Get up to speed on how effectively the legislation helps secure the Internet and whether it infringes on the privacy of your constituents.
Speakers:
Cory Bennett, Cyber Security Reporter, The Hill (Moderator) (Bio)
Robyn Greene, Policy Counsel, Open Technology Institute at New America (Bio)
Cheri McGuire, Vice President, Global Government Affairs & Cybersecurity Policy, Symantec (Bio)
Heather Molino, Cornerstone Government Affairs (Bio)
Attend: RSVP via Eventbrite here Note: This is a fast-paced, recess 60-minute flash-luncheon briefing format Date: Friday, April 10, 2015 Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm. Program starts at 12:00 pm, check-in starts at 11:40 am Location Rayburn House Office Building Room 2226 Lunch: A boxed lunch will be served. Follow:@NetCaucusAC | #CISA
Background
President Obama has made the public-private sharing of threat information one of the most pressing priorities in his massive push to protect the nation’s cyber infrastructure. Last month at the Cyber Security Summit the President signed an executive order to promote better sharing of threat information, “both within the private sector and between government and the private sector.” As part of that strategy he has called upon Congress to pass legislation to increase the flow of threat information.
Yet, Congress has attempted to pass such legislation before and was met with vigorous opposition. Almost two years ago the “Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA)” met an abrupt end amid civil liberties, privacy, and surveillance concerns- and that was before the NSA revelations by leaker Edward Snowden.
Now the President and Congress are back with new legislation to protect cyber systems via information sharing. Bills are being prepared and you are likely to see Congress vote on it shortly. Our panel of experts will explore the issues related to information sharing, whether the approach will secure the homeland and whether the legislation puts civil liberties and privacy at risk.
This widely attended educational briefing is hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee (ICAC), part of a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization. Congressional staff and members of the press welcome. The ICAC is a private sector organization comprised of public interest groups, trade associations, non-profits, and corporations. The ICAC takes no positions on legislation or regulation. Rather, it’s a neutral platform where thought leaders debate important technology issues that shape legislative and administration policy in an open forum. We vigilantly adhere to our mission to curate balanced and dynamic debates among Internet stakeholders. Our volunteer board members ensure that we dutifully execute that mission. More information on the ICAC is available at www.netcaucus.org.
A packed room and C-SPAN cameras at the July 24 event on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs)
