State of the Net Conference

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Diversity At State of the Net 2022

Last month we were thrilled to convene the Internet stakeholder community at the 18th annual State of the Net Conference, the nation’s most prominent Internet policy summit.

Speakers at SOTN reflect different perspectives on Internet policy issues. We have long curated the program to highlight differences of opinion among experts from across the spectrum of industry, government, academia, and civil society. 

We have made strides over the years to bring more diverse voices to the table at State of the Net. We’ve made great progress in some areas and have made incremental improvements in others. In other areas, we haven’t made much of a dent and we need to do better. In the interest of accountability, we’re publishing the below stats regarding speaker diversity at #SOTN2022.*

Diversity At State of the Net 2022
Diversity At State of the Net 2022
Diversity At State of the Net 2022
Diversity At State of the Net 2022

There is always room for improvement and will work harder. We will also continue our work to create a pipeline for talented Internet policy practitioners of color through the Internet Law & Policy Foundry. The Foundry, which we launched six years ago, is a professional development platform for early career professionals passionate about Internet law and policy. Diversity is a major goal in the Foundry admissions criteria for incoming fellows. We will also continue to inspire students of color to pursue careers in computer science and STEM through the Congressional App Challenge (CAC). Through the House’s official computer science competition for middle and high school students, which we administer, we work to ensure that student participation in the CAC reflects the diversity of the American people. (See impact/diversity).

* BIPOC Defined.
** Our survey of speakers at SOTN was passive. Our data is not a reflection speakers’ attestation of identity.  

Agenda, Video
SOTN 2022 is over. Here are links to the program agenda, speakers, videos.

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Event Recap: Seeding The Technology Workforce Of The Future / Funding CS & STEM

ICYMI Video & Event Summary

Last week we convened leaders in Congress and a panel of computer science education experts to discuss the prospects for Congress seeding the technology workforce of the future by investing in K-12 CS and STEM programs.

TL;DR Event Recap

  • A dozen bills have dropped in recent weeks funding student CS and STEM programs as Congress awaits Biden’s American Jobs Plan (which also includes CS). It’s a historic opportunity for Congress. 
  • Programs must be distributed equitably so that America’s tech workforce of the future represents women, communities of color, rural communities, and Native and Indigenous peoples. 
  • Technology skills are increasingly in demand while many of the non-skilled, pre-Pandemic jobs simply don’t exist any more. 
  • Our greatest challenges in areas like cybersecurity, AR/VR, AI/machine learning, autonomous transportation will not be won without these investments in students. 

Watch Video / Detailed Summary Below

Selected Event Tweets

Text Summary

On June 17th, the Congressional App Challenge and the State of the Net Series hosted a policy forum on the legislative prospects for computer science funding. The event featured distinguished figures who are at the forefront of expanding computer science education. Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13) and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) made opening remarks followed by a panel discussion with Dr. Allison Scott, the CEO of the Kapor Center, Dr. Pam Buffington, the Co-Director of STEM Programs at the Education Development Center, and Jake Baskin, the Executive Director of the Computer Science Teachers Association.

A significant amount of students across the United States do not have access to computer science education, and this policy event spoke to different strategies of expanding the domestic pipeline of coding talent. While all the speakers agreed that skills in computer science are foundational for the future workforce across all careers, they differed on their approaches for how to invest in this future.

For Rep. Lee, Rep. Houlahan, and Dr. Scott, a key problem is the lack of equitable access and diversity in computer science education. African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, low-income students, and girls are disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to access to a computer science education. Rep. Lee mentioned that only 6% of the Advanced Placement Computer Science exam takers were African American and only 16% were Latino. To close such disparities, Dr. Scott believes that Congress should target their funding initiatives to these communities, closing racial and gender gaps in the tech industry. Rep. Lee made a similar statement, arguing that “Congress must invest in computer science education by expanding areas of artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity autonomous transportation and virtual and augmented reality, to build the workforce of the future. And yes, to address some of our greatest challenges, this will be key to strengthening our economy and the tech workforce.”

As a trained engineer herself, Rep. Houlahan offered a unique and critical perspective on the issue, understanding firsthand the lack of diversity in the field: “And we ensure that our talent pipeline is diverse by investing in equitable education opportunities for students of all racial, gender and economic backgrounds. Our STEM community will be at its strongest when we are at our most diverse. In Congress, I founded the very first ever Women in STEM Caucus. How crazy is it that before 2019 such an organization didn’t even exist?”

Dr. Buffington, additionally, focused on the need to expand computer science education to rural areas of the United States. She believes that ensuring universal and affordable broadband access to computer science education is essential to investing in a stronger workforce. Right now, computer science courses are less available in rural communities than urban ones, so Dr. Buffington suggests three solutions to this problem: increasing support for implementing computer science practices into curriculums, providing targeted professional development for rural educators. and supporting connections with rural businesses so students are providing real-world opportunities to apply their CS skills.

Lastly, Jake Baskin focused on the need to invest in teachers, so teachers have the skills and knowledge to teach computer science effectively to students. Today, most CS teachers do not have a degree in computer science, revealing a lack of prior experience that is needed to support students. Additionally, Baskin stated that more than half of CS teachers don’t feel equipped to use culturally relevant pedagogy in classrooms— a clear limitation to closing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic gaps in computer science education.

Despite the different focuses that each of the speakers had with regard to expanding computer science education and investing in the future workforce, they all agreed that CS education for all students should begin at a young age. A broad-based foundation in computer science will be necessary for all future careers as technology advances. Additionally, they all agreed that we are at a historic moment in which there are large scale commitments across sectors to expand computer science education. This can be seen with the numerous computer science bills being proposed in Congress, President Biden’s American Jobs Plan, and the voices of everyday people who are participating in important computer science education discussions.

About The State of the Net Series
The State of the Net Series is organized by the Internet Education Foundation (IEF). IEF is neither a trade association nor an industry advocacy group.  It blends all Internet stakeholders (academics, consumer groups, industry, think tanks) together with government stakeholders around the common cause of assuring informed Internet policymaking.  Our program demands only that stakeholders debate Internet policy issues seriously and in good faith while always putting the health of the Internet first and foremost. For over 20 years, the Internet Education Foundation has been building the most prominent platforms for engagement. More information is available at www.stateofthenet.org.

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Diversity At State of the Net 2021

Two weeks ago we were thrilled to convene the Internet stakeholder community at the 17th annual State of the Net Conference, the nation’s most prominent Internet policy summit.

Speakers at SOTN reflect different perspectives on Internet policy issues. We have long curated the program to highlight differences of opinion among experts from across the spectrum of industry, government, academia, and civil society. Yet, over those 17 years the speakers at SOTN have not always sufficiently represented women and communities of color. Over the course of our 25 year history, those voices have been woefully underrepresented in Internet policy conversations.

We have made strides over the years to bring more diverse voices to the table at State of the Net. We’ve made great progress in some areas and have made incremental improvements in others. In other areas, we haven’t made much of a dent and we need to do better. In the interest of accountability, we’re publishing the below stats regarding speaker diversity at #SOTN2021.*

Diversity At State of the Net 2021
Diversity At State of the Net 2021
Diversity At State of the Net 2021
Diversity At State of the Net 2021

There is always room for improvement and will work harder. We will also continue our work to create a pipeline for talented Internet policy practitioners of color through the Internet Law & Policy Foundry. The Foundry, which we launched six years ago, is a professional development platform for early career professionals passionate about Internet law and policy. Diversity is a major goal in the Foundry admissions criteria for incoming fellows. We will also continue to inspire students of color to pursue careers in computer science and STEM through the Congressional App Challenge (CAC). Through the House’s official computer science competition for middle and high school students, which we administer, we work to ensure that student participation in the CAC reflects the diversity of the American people. (See impact/diversity).

* BIPOC Defined.
** Our survey of speakers at SOTN was passive. Our data is not a reflection speakers’ attestation of identity.  

Agenda, Video
SOTN 2021 is over. Here are links to the program agenda, speakers, videos.

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Save The Date Jan 26 & 27 2021 | The Transition of Internet Policy

We’ll explore all the tech policy transitions at the 17th Annual State of the Net Conference on January 26 & 27, 2021. It is the must-attend tech policy event to start the new year. Save the date! 

Save The Date Jan 26 & 27 2021 | The Transition of Internet Policy

A new Administration promises to usher in new Internet policies from government and from industry itself. We’ll dive into the most pressing policy issues. Congressional and federal leaders will engage with stakeholders on issues such as broadband, consumer privacy, content moderation, election security, artificial intelligence, and many more.

As always, State of the Net will be your first look at the new players and the new issues that will take center stage in 2021. This conference is unique for its diverse blend of perspectives and provocative thinkers. As policy debates become more polarized, State of the Net is the most important stakeholder gathering which brings together key players who disagree (respectfully). That’s the point.

Past keynote speakers include White House CTOs Aneesh Chopra, Megan Smith, and Michael Kratsios, Senators John Thune, Roger Wicker, and Amy Klobuchar, UBER Founder/CEO Travis Kalanick, advocate Max Schrems, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, and many others. Want to know more? Find out more by looking at recent past speakers here and our 2020 recap here.

Stay tuned for speaker announcements…

Make sure you follow @SOTN and use the hashtag #SOTN2021 on Twitter for conference updates!

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C-SPAN Tonight: USDOJ & R Street’s Baker Debate Crypto

Last month the Internet policy community came together at State of the Net in Washington, DC. Among the most pressing debates was the use of strong end-to-end encryption. After a feisty panel on crypto C-SPAN producers interviewed two of our key speakers, Justice Department Associate Attorney General Sujit Raman and former FBI General Counsel James Baker.

That debate, filmed in the lobby of State of the Net, will air on the C-SPAN show “The Communicators” through this weekend and into next week. The first airing will be tonight, February 21, at 10:30 am. Visit C-SPAN here to be alerted to additional broadcast times and streaming.

C-SPAN Tonight: USDOJ & R Street’s Baker Debate Crypto
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Watch Reps. McMorris Rodgers & Hurd, w/ FEC’s Weintraub, on C-SPAN This Weekend

The award-winning C–SPAN show “The Communicators” will broadcast in-depth interviews from the State of the Net tonight at 10:30 pm ET and through the weekend on C–SPAN.

The first set of featured interviews include Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Federal Election Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, and Rep. Will Hurd. Each interview expanded on their comments at State of the Net.

Visit C–SPAN here to be alerted to broadcast times.

Watch Reps. McMorris Rodgers & Hurd, w/ FEC’s Weintraub, on C-SPAN This Weekend

#SOTN2020 Conversations

Then agenda, videos, and photos for the conference are now available. 
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Rep Anna G. Eshoo Honors Bob Goodlatte For His Congressional Internet Caucus Service

On January 29, 2019 Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo, on behalf of her other Congressional Internet Caucus co-chairs — Senator John Thune and Senator Patrick Leahy — presented former Congressman Bob Goodlatte a gift as an appreciation for his decades of service as co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus. The co-chairs presented Bob Goodlatte, a renowned collector of baseball memorabilia, with a one-of-a-kind baseball bat engraved with the signatures of the three remaining co-chairs.

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Chairman Greg Walden To Keynote #SOTN18 | Register Now

Congressman Greg Walden will keynote the 14th Annual State of the Net Conference on January 29, 2018 at the Newseum in Washington D.C. Congressman Walden joins a roster of leading speakers – from government, business, and academia – who are shaping the future of Internet policy.  

Congressman Walden is Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce, which oversees broad swaths of the Internet ecosystem. Recently, Chairman Walden has held hearings focused on online consumer safety, security, and access to the flow of information. 

Every year, key Internet policy makers and thinkers gather at State of the Net. Join them on January 29, 2018 at the Newseum’s Knight Conference Center in Washington, D.C. to be part of the Internet policy conversation.

REGISTER NOW

The upcoming State of the Net Conference will cover the most important policy issues facing the Internet today. Congressional and administration leaders will engage with stakeholders on issues such as digital inclusion, freedom of expression, trust & tribalism, broadband fragmentation, innovation, and many more. As always, State of the Net will be your first look at the new players and the new issues that will take center stage in 2018. Whether it’s artificial intelligence or cyber security policies, State of the Net is the best place to debate them all. This conference is unique. It’s been consistently lauded for its balanced blend of perspectives and its provocative thinkers. In an increasingly polarized policy space, State of the Net is the most important stakeholder gathering that brings you together with key people with whom you disagree (respectfully). That’s the point. 

Past keynote speakers include: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, UBER Founder/CEO Travis Kalanick, Dropbox Founder/CEO Drew Houston, Comcast NBC CEO Brian L. Roberts and many others. Find out more about our recent past speakers here.

State of the Net attracts over 600 attendees by providing unparalleled opportunities to network and engage on key policy issues. 

Want to know more about what State of the Net does? Here are video highlights of the conference to give a better sense of what the event does.

Follow us on Twitter for conference news and updates as we finalize the conference agenda and announce our final panelists and keynote speakers. Registration is free for all government staff, press and media, and a limited number of student tickets are available. Discounted tickets are available for non-profit and academic attendees.

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IEF Seeking Google Policy Fellows for Summer 2017

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.

IEF projects include the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, the State of the Net Conference Series, the Congressional App Challenge, and the Internet Law & Policy Foundry.
Find more information the Google Policy Fellowship Program

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Vocativ partners with IEF for The Snowden Effect Series

Kevin Collier to moderate Surveillance panel

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.

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