Executives from Google, Facebook, Twitter and Others Will Provide an Unprecedented Under-the-Hood Look at Internal Content Moderation Practices
Washington, D.C. – In the midst of growing public and Congressional scrutiny of internet platforms, there are more questions than ever about how those services are wielding their power to moderate the content that their users post. How are they making decisions about what content stays up and what content comes down? Are they taking down too much, or not enough? And what role does AI play in this process? To help answer those questions, key executives from some of Silicon Valley’s top companies will converge on May 7 for the Content Moderation at Scale Summit in Washington, D.C.
The Summit will feature a who’s who of the tech industry’s content moderation operations — those responsible for filtering out objectionable and illegal content. Executives like Twitter’s Vice President of Trust & Safety, Del Harvey; Google’s Senior Litigation Counsel, Nora Puckett; and Facebook’s Policy Manager for Risk, Peter Stern, will provide an inside view of their companies’ processes for identifying and removing problematic content such as extremist propaganda, hate speech, “deepfakes”, and fake news. They’ll also detail the challenges of fairly and accurately moderating such content at scale while also seeking to balance users’ free expression rights.
The Summit will also feature workshops on the legal framework surrounding content moderation, machine-assisted content analysis and law enforcement cooperation. These workshops will involve senior executives from Twitter, Facebook, Google, Match Group, Vimeo, Wikimedia, and more.
The COMO Summit is a collaborative effort among a group of think tanks, non-profits, academic institutions, and trade associations that are committed to content moderation practices that maximize free expression and personal liberty while maintaining a civil society. This group includes the Cato Institute, Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), Charles Koch Institute, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Engine, Internet Association, Internet Education Foundation, New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI), and Santa Clara University School of Law.
We’ve crunched the numbers from the 2017 Congressional App Challenge and results are amazing: 225 Members of the House of Representatives hosted local computer science competitions for students in their districts. The competition was unprecedented in terms of sheer participation as well as in geographical and diversity statistics.
The Congressional App Challenge (CAC), which has become the most prestigious prize in student app competitions, more than doubled in terms of participation over the previous year, and nine new states across the country were represented. In the course of three short years, the CAC, which is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, has achieved what no other initiative has been able to do: it has reached extraordinary levels of geographic and rural participation while garnering participation from underserved communities at record-setting levels.
We thought you should know about the amazing stats from the 2017 CAC detailed below. And we’ve provided a look ahead to our #HouseOfCode Demo Day in Rayburn and the start of the 2018 CAC.
Student Participation Up 129%
Geographical Participation
This past year, the CAC increased state participation by almost 30 percent. The 40 states in dark blue represent those that participated in the district-wide competitions in 2017.
Geographic Footprint of the 2017 Congressional App Challenge
CAC Crushes Tech Industry Diversity Gap
The CAC outpaced the tech industry by reaching out to a wide range of students in terms of gender, race, ethnicity and geography. The following unprecedented growth is due to the CAC footprint, which included 225 US congressional districts.
Inspiring Young Women Coders
The CAC helped address the gender gap in the tech industry by reaching a new plateau with 33% of its participants being young women and girls. During the 3rd annual contest, over 1,600 female students were inspired by Congress’ coding challenge.
Source: 2014 Silicon Valley Diversity Chart, (C) 2015 Lee & Low Books
“One of my goals was to increase the CAC footprint to ensure that all underrepresented groups had a chance to participate,” said CAC Director Rachel Decoste. ‚”I am proud that the App Challenge continues to surpass tech industry standards. It foreshadows the strength of the future of the U.S. workforce”.
Attend #HouseofCode /
The New National Science Fair
The Congressional App Challenge invites winners from across the country to demo their apps to the Members of Congress and members of the tech community at #HouseOfCode, a reception on Capitol Hill to be held on April 12, 2018. At #HouseOfCode the winners are recognized by their Representative in Congress and their apps are put on display in the Capitol Building. Southwest airlines provides $100 travel vouchers for winners to come to #HouseOfCode and winners are given $250 Amazon Web Service Credits.
“We hope you will join us in celebrating these remarkable students.” Rachel Decoste, Director, Congressional App Challenge.
In collaboration with willing Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, the Challenge has become a valuable manifestation of Congress’ commitment to building the domestic pipeline of future tech leaders. The CAC Congressional Director Melissa Medina adds, “This Challenge innovates the way Congress engages with technology. We work to connect today’s Congress with tomorrow’s coders and innovators. The fact that the App Challenge is naturally bipartisan demonstrates tech’s ability to unite Congress behind a common goal of spreading STEM and Computer Science opportunities across the country.”
2018 Sponsors
About The Congressional App Challenge
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives to encourage kids to learn how to code, through annual district-wide competitions hosted by Members of Congress for their district.
Students in participating districts code original applications for the chance to be selected for recognition by their Member of Congress, win prizes, and have their app put on display in the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The Challenge is executed by the Congressional staff of each participating district. It is initiated by the Congressional Internet Caucus and coordinated by the Internet Education Foundation, the appointed non-governmental sponsor. [More]
After about 21 years we’re modifying our name to the Congressional Internet Caucus Academy. While our name has changed, we will continue our heralded educational program for Congressional tech staffers on Capitol Hill. Our new name better reflects the nature of the baseline, educational Internet policy curriculum that we have executed for decades. This is our new logo:
We look forward to host balanced briefings on timely Internet policy issues on a regular basis. The main difference will be thenew name and the new logo. You will still recognize the consistent quality and relevance of the program.
We strive to make our program the goldstandard for discussing key Internet policy issues. Not only do we bring the most knowledgeable experts to the table to illuminate the issues, we also ensure that our“faculty” speakers are as diverse as possible. In fact, last year 44% of our expert panelists were women.
Attendees listen to panel discussion on net neutrality. Click here to view on Flickr.
We commit toexecuting the same unimpeachable program in 2018. A few weeks back we started with a Net Neutrality briefing and we will hold a discussion on Europe’s GDPR privacy law in a few weeks. Going forward we plan to host discussions on Blockchain, “Hipster” Antitrust, Cross Border Data Warrants, Digital Music Licensing, Cyber Security and more.
We plan to video livestream 100% of our discussions this year, even though it is technically challenging and resource intensive for a small non-profit like ours. Last year we managed to livestream nearly 90% of them. We will also continue audio podcasting our events as we have done for over a decade. Below are links to past video livestreams on both Facebook and YouTube. You can also use the RSS link to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Play Music, or your favorite podcast app.
Use the signup form here to be added to our mailing list for events, news, and media. We look forward to seeing you at the next briefing.
We’re so grateful for our summer Google Policy Fellow, Rebecca Tjahja. Below is a blog post by her describing her summer in DC. Thank you so much, Rebecca!
Washington, D.C. is undoubtedly the best city in America to intern. The last 12 months of living in D.C. have made me a bit biased, but I say this as a proud California native. It has sometimes been challenging spending a year in D.C. while still in school, but the incredible opportunities that I have been able to take on have made every challenge worth it. I’ve had the privilege of working for the White House, the Financial Services Roundtable, and the Internet Education Foundation (IEF) as a Google Policy Fellow. The incredible impact of the experiences I’ve had and the people I’ve met have shaped me as a young woman and young professional. Here are the three reasons why every young professional should intern in D.C.:
1) Close relationships focused on your development as a leader
Passionate people from around the world come to D.C., bringing with them an incredible amount of brain power and diversity in background. From policy advisors up to the President’s senior advisors, the level of expertise and intelligence was amazing. Fortunately, everyone took time to share their expertise and perspective with the interns, and helped us see how to become the leaders we wish to be. During my time at the White House I was incredibly lucky to serve under Special Assistant to the President, R. David Edelman. He never hesitated to give me the responsibility and autonomy to think for myself, and allowed me to exercise a part of my brain and leadership ability I wouldn’t be able to otherwise in another setting. I found that other leaders in D.C. followed this same practice. As a Google Fellow, the executive director of IEF, Tim Lordan, gave me the same freedom to start and develop my own large-scale project and encouraged me to take initiative rather than cautioning me against it. I also managed to make it on C-SPAN thanks to Tim!
2) The people that you will meet
I grew up in Los Angeles, but I think I’ve met more famous people in Washington, D.C. than in LA. It’s also important to note that one’s perception of who is “famous” changes while in D.C. (I think I fangirled more about meeting Ian Bremmer than Selena Gomez. Who’s Ian Bremmer? Exactly.) Influential people are infinitely more accessible in Washington D.C. than anywhere else. The number of hearings, events, and receptions that I’ve been invited to has led me to connect with some of the most important decision-makers in the free world. I even had the opportunity to directly ask President Obama for his advice on leadership, which is a moment that will stay with me forever.
3) History is not only felt, but made here
I stood backstage with then Secretary Julian Castro and my boss from the White House as they prepared to give their remarks up on stage about rural broadband connectivity; sat front row as President Obama and Leonardo DiCaprio discussed the climate change and its future threat to our society; walked and talked with five different ambassadors down West Executive Drive about current happenings in their countries; stood in front of the Capitol as the transfer of power was passed from President Obama to President Trump. I didn’t realize at the time that my day-to-day activities and observations were at the forefront of what was defining our country. There is no other place in the world where “learning by watching” has been more impactful or motivating. Every young professional can come here and have the same experience.
Many successful and powerful influencers and decision makers’ paths have their humble beginning as an intern like me in Washington, DC, and right now I see myself at the beginning of a similar trail. Life-changing opportunities come with the right person, place, and time, and this city is an amazing catalyst in that equation. One connection has evolved into many, each providing insight into my strengths, weaknesses, and which direction I want to go into in my near and far future. If you are looking for an intellectually challenging environment to grow as a leader and person, Washington, D.C. is the place to be. It is a place where I felt that I could make a difference and where a difference was made within me.
The Internet Education Foundation is seeking an experienced, energetic and dynamic Program Director to lead one of its projects, the Congressional App Challenge. The position is based in Washington, D.C.
The Congressional App Challenge (CAC) is a young, nationwide effort aimed at encouraging students to learn how to code, through localized app challenges hosted by Members of Congress. (More details on the CAC below.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Program Director position will be responsible for overseeing execution of the Congressional App Challenge, including:
Program Management: The Program Director is responsible for determining, implementing and overseeing CAC processes. These include, but are not limited to: congressional registration and participation, student registration and project submission, partnership management, localized outreach strategies, diversity-promoting strategies, etc.
In the last 2 years, nearly 4,000 students have participated in 239 challenges across 33 states – and the program is growing in popularity. The Program Director will need to establish new data management protocols to protect the information of thousands of students, connect congressional offices with pertinent organizations, and more.
Fundraising: The Program Director is an integral part of the organization’s fundraising efforts. The Program Director must be able to articulate the project’s goals and value to prospective funders, communicate with existing funders, and determine a strategy to attract additional funders. A background in grant applications and foundation fundraising is a bonus.
Communications/Marketing: The Program Director must use communications tools and strategies to recruit student participation and stakeholder support in pockets all across America. This role will require raising awareness of the project through social media, email marketing campaigns, personalized communications, and frequent public speaking under a variety of conditions.
Manage A Growing Team: Currently, the primary CAC consists of a full-time Program Manager, several part-time consultants, and several interns and volunteers. As the program grows, the Program Director will need to establish hiring criteria and processes, manage onboarding, and oversee a growing team.
As the Program Director you will:
Oversee all efforts involved in execution of the Congressional App Challenge.
Develop and maintain sponsor relationships.
Build partnerships with community organizations, both nationwide and local, to advance outreach efforts in participating districts.
Develop and maintain improved contact/data management systems.
Work with the Congressional Affairs Director and oversee other team members.
Organize #HouseOfCode, the culminating celebration in the Spring.
Develop new models for growth in the areas of educational support and regional events such as hackathons and demo days.
SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS
The most important quality a program manager must bring to the table, is a passion for addressing the tech talent gap, and promoting equity and equality in the tech community.
Required Skills & Qualifications:
Several years experience managing complex projects.
An entrepreneurial spirit and startup mentality.
Relentless attention to detail and effective time-management skills.
A commitment to social equity and diversity efforts.
A data-driven, metrics-oriented mindset.
Fundraising experience.
Media experience; pitching press releases, op-eds, and more.
Clear and concise communications skills, oral and written.
Some familiarity with Computer Science (coding skills a plus).
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience with WordPress, HTML, and CSS.
Experience with CRMs and email marketing programs. (We use Salesforce and Mailchimp.)
Experience with database development and management.
Non-profit or Capitol Hill experience.
Experience hosting hackathons, demo days, or coding competitions.
Experience with computer science education strongly preferred.
A Graduate Degree in public policy, business administration, computer science, or related fields.
Launched in late 2015, the Congressional App Challenge operates in the intersection of Congressional politics, technology policy, and 21st century workforce development. The program is a joint effort between the Internet Education Foundation and the House of Representatives. Aimed at inspiring students across America to pursue computer science and coding skills, IEF coordinates and supports the execution of regional app challenges hosted by the Members of Congress from July through late October/early November.
Winners are announced in December during Computer Science Education Week, and the Challenge concludes with #HouseOfCode, a reception and demo day held in Washington DC in the spring, which student from around the country travel to, to showcase their award-winning apps.
The CAC mission is to inspire, include, and innovate efforts around STEM, coding, and computer science education:
Inspire: To inspire students from every corner of the country to explore STEM, coding and computer science through hands-on practice;
Include: To actively include and engage students from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the tech community; and
Innovate: To innovate policymaking by connecting Members of Congress to new and emerging technologies through personal interactions with their student constituents.
In two cycles, the CAC has executed 239 successful challenges, and has grown to a point that now requires an experienced project manager to take the program to the next level.
On Monday and Tuesday, April 3-4, the Internet Education Foundation was proud to host two days of programming as part of #HouseOfCode, a celebration of the 2016 Congressional App Challenge winners.
The 2016 CAC winners started Tuesday, April 4 by attending “Computer Science, Coding, and Beyond: Career Options in the Tech Community,”a program hostedby Microsoft at their Innovation and Policy Center.
Allyson Knox, Microsoft’s Director of Education Policy, welcomed the students and introduced keynote speaker Representative Suzan DelBene. The Congresswoman spoke to the students about her experience working in both tech and policy realms, and encouraged them to make a difference in the world by pursuing their passions. The Congresswoman’s speech was followed by a panel of tech professionals, moderated by Austin Carson (Executive Director, TechFreedom), and featuring panelists Rachel Bittner (Engineer, Spotify), Clara Tsao (Presidential Innovation Fellow), and Matt Legend (CEO of Legend). (Check out the video, here! Skip ahead to the 22 minute mark to get to the programming.) After leaving Microsoft, the students and their families headed to Capitol Hill to visit the Capitol Building display that features the CAC-winning apps.
The programming culminated with #HouseOfCode, a Demo Day and Reception held in theRayburn Foyer on Capitol Hill (generously sponsored by Intel), where the students presented the incredible apps that won their district’s Congressional App Challenge. #HouseOfCode featured students from 51 Congressional Districts and 22 states. 37 Members of Congress attended, in support of their students and the Congressional App Challenge.
Over 500 supporters of computer science education attended #HouseOfCode in total. Guests heard remarks from the CAC Executive Director, the Congressional Internet Caucus Co-Chairs, and several of the past, present and future CAC Congressional Co-Chairs. Reps. Ed Royce and Seth Moulton announced their successors: Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27) and Rep. Tim Ryan (OH-13) will serve as the co-chairs of the 2017 Congressional App Challenge! The speakers included:
In less than two years, the Congressional App Challenge has reached nearly 4,000 students in 33 states. Congressional offices have hosted 239 successful challenges, and received the submission of nearly 1200 original, student-coded apps. The success of the Congressional App Challenge has been made possible thanks to the widespread bipartisan congressional support for the program, and thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and partners.
#HouseOfCode was made possible by the generous support of these sponsors:
Thank you to all who supported #HouseOfCode and the Congressional App Challenge!
The Internet Education Foundation is hosting a Google Policy Fellow this summer. We’re looking for amazing candidates to work on any of our projects. More information about this year’s fellowship can be found in this Google post and on the Google Policy Fellowship Program page.
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.
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.
David Morar will be the Internet Education Foundation’s 2016 Google Policy Fellow.
Today the Internet Education Foundation (IEF) announced that David Morar, PhD student at the George Mason University School of Policy Government and International Affairs, will serve as its 2016 Google Policy Fellow.
As part of his summer fellowship, Morar will contribute to IEF’s ongoing projects, and to kickstarting new initiatives and programs. With a passion for technology policy and a love of the Internet, David hopes to be able to continue the impactful work done by previous Google Fellows at IEF. Complemented by a wide range of previous experiences, from being a freelance journalist in his home country of Romania, to helping run several editions of a multi-day student-centric science and technology studies and policy conference in DC, David’s research focuses on numerous Internet policy and governance issues, which positions him as a worthwhile addition to our team.
Previously a GMU Presidential Fellow and a Research Fellow at the Future of Privacy Forum, he also holds an appointment as the 2016-2018 student representative on the Policy Council of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. David Morar earned a Bachelors of Political Science from the University of Bucharest, and a Masters of International Affairs from the Pennsylvania State University. Follow him (@morar) and us (@netedfound) on Twitter.
