Tech policy is a confusing term. It’s used both to describe the laws that regulate the technology industry as well as the technology that governments employ to provide services to their constituents. Should tech companies be liable for the content on their platforms? Tech policy. Should the US Army build applications on AWS or Azure? Also tech policy.
The world of tech policy is both vast and niche. Most congressional offices include it as a subset of a single staffer’s portfolio, often lumped in alongside transportation and telecom policy. But over the last decade, many people in DC have recognized the need for more technical expertise in government. There are now a collection of programs that allow for industry leaders to engage with the public sector without having to permanently alter their career paths.
In this talk, I’ll discuss some of the big ongoing tech policy debates and walk through ways you can get involved in the policy world. While I have spent my career in the private sector, I have done several fellowships in the tech policy space and am excited to share what I have learned with the LeadDev community.
