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Apr 7, 2025 • 40min

‘Signalgate’ and the Use of Commercial Apps in Government

After The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief revealed he was inadvertently added to a group chat with high-ranking national security officials on the commercial app Signal, there have been widespread discussions and concerns about how government officials communicate sensitive information. Co-host, Nicol Turner Lee, speaks to Brookings’ experts Stephanie Pell and Scott Anderson on this story’s implications for cybersecurity and privacy under the Trump administration. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Mar 10, 2025 • 40min

What to expect from Trump’s FCC?

Tom Wheeler, the former FCC chairman under Obama and author of 'Tech Lash', discusses the evolving landscape of the FCC under the Trump administration. He highlights the potential rollback of diversity initiatives and the challenges of spectrum auctions critical for 5G rollout. Wheeler also raises alarms about political influence on public interest decisions, touching on concerns around censorship. He emphasizes the urgency of addressing broadband access and cybersecurity, as well as the implications for artificial intelligence and network security.
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Feb 24, 2025 • 36min

How Black Tech Founders Are Advancing Innovation

African Americans have had long standing impacts in the field of innovation as inventors to entrepreneurs. In this episode, we will talk to serial entrepreneurs Erin Horne McKinney and John Pasmore to share how Black Tech founders are advancing their ideas, while navigating barriers that limit access to capital and relevant networks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 3, 2025 • 38min

What’s next for TikTok?

To ban or not to ban the social media app, Tik Tok? This has been the question since President Trump’s first term in office, largely due to a host of national security concerns. The recent extension to the ban for identifying a U.S.-based buyer may have saved the app for online users but was it an overreach of Trump’s power. In this episode, guests discuss the implications for the future of Tik Tok in the U.S. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jan 13, 2025 • 41min

Realizing Africa’s Potential: A Conversation with Book Author, Landry Signé

By 2050, Africa will be home to 25% of the world’s population with more than $16 trillion in combined business and consumer spending. The dividends of innovation must be part of the continent’s growth, as well as the global digital economy. On this episode of the TechTank podcast, co-host and Brookings fellow, Chinasa Okolo, speaks with author and Brookings Senior Fellow, Landry Signé about his new book, Realizing Africa’s Potential: A Journey to Potential. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dec 23, 2024 • 21min

New Developments in State Technology Policy

Scott Brennen, Director of the NYU Center on Technology Policy, dives into the surge of state-level technology legislation. He highlights the remarkable 163% jump in new laws, discussing pressing issues like AI regulations and online child safety. Scott reveals the implications of these laws on non-consensual imagery, political deepfakes, and copyright protection. With over 238 new legislative pieces, he shares insights on how state responses to emerging technologies are shaping the future and what to expect as we approach 2025.
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Dec 9, 2024 • 32min

What to Expect from the Trump Administration on Cybersecurity

The digital world has become a dangerous place. We have seen foreign entities burrow intotelecom networks and extract highly confidential information. There have been hacks of vitalinfrastructure, ransomware attacks, and thefts of sensitive data bases. The Biden Administration sought to deal with emerging threats by defending criticalinfrastructure, disrupting threat actors, use market forces to improve security, and forginginternational partnerships.What remains to be seen, though, is how many of these initiatives will be maintained by the newTrump Administration. How the new president handles cybersecurity is an important topicbecause a CyberNews study recently found 65 percent of American companies scored a D orworse on cybersecurity and only 7 percent earned an A. It is clear that we all need to do a betterjob on protecting our digital assets.To help us understand these issues, Brookings colleagues Stephanie Pell and Darrell M. Westways to safeguard critical infrastructure, disrupt threat actors, and use market forces to improvesecurity and the manner in which Trump may move on cybersecurity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 25, 2024 • 31min

Will the US Become the new Crypto Capital of the World?

Donald Trump's election could set the stage for a sweeping policy overhaul, fueled by ambitious plans to make the United States the crypto capital of the world. From a potential national Bitcoin reserve to pro-crypto regulatory leadership, the sector is gearing up for a transformative period. With a Republican-controlled Congress and big industry campaign contributions in the 2024 election, the stakes are set for dramatic changes in crypto-policy and the overall crypto-landscape.This week on the TechTank Podcast, co-hosts Darrell West is joined by Aaron Klein, a Senior Fellow at the Center on Regulation and Markets at the Brookings Institution to discuss if the U.S will become the crypto capital of the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 11, 2024 • 35min

What a Trump Presidency Means for Tech

 In this episode of the TechTank Podcast, Cohost Darrell West and Nicol Turner Lee sit down to discuss what to expect in the coming years in regard to AI, antitrust enforcement, the digital divide, China, cryptocurrency, and disinformation and what people should watch from Capitol Hill and the administration.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Oct 28, 2024 • 30min

Is climate change a forgotten priority for election 2024?

In this episode of the TechTank podcast guest host Xavier Freeman-Edwards is joined by Barry Rabe, Nonresident Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and professor at the University of Michigan to discuss if the 2024 election will bring more attention to climate change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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