AUSTIN, Texas – Last summer, when Julie Samuels started thinking about her SXSW panel on tech policy, the presidential election was just beginning. At the time, she envisioned that the panel would be an opportunity to walk through a whole host of tech issues that would surely be in the political spotlight by the time the annual technology festival rolled around in this March.
It hasn’t panned out that way.
"By and large, the candidates are not talking about technology and technology policy," Samuels, executive director at entrepreneurship advocacy group Engine Advocacy, told a crowd gathered in Austin, Texas on Monday. "This is despite the fact that every new tech job helps creates on average five jobs in other industries, and it's despite the fact that high-tech companies and high-growth startups are helping revitalizing communities all across the country."
Ron Klain, executive vice president and general counsel at Revolution LLC, a venture capital firm headed by AOL co-founder an entrepreneurship advocate Steve Case, expressed similar frustration. He noted that there have been 19 Republican and Democratic debates, during which moderators have asked 582 questions. By his count, only three of them have been specifically about technology.
“I think that’s a shame, because there’s no question this election will have a major impact on the technology sector, whether we like it or not,” Klain said. Added Ted Ullyot, a partner and head of the policy group at venture capital group Andreessen Horowitz: “No candidate on either side has really talked about tech policy issues in a significant way or captured the enthusiasm of Silicon Valley.”
On the bright side, it’s still early. We’re eight months away from election day, which means the candidates still have time to start talking tech policy. So which issues are top of mind? Samuels, Klain and Ullyot touched on several of most important (and ignored) topics during their panel in Austin.
Immigration reform: On the whole, immigration has been a prevalent topic during the election; however, most of the talk has been about border security and – of course – wall building. What has been lost is the importance of high-skill immigration reforms as part of a broader effort to modernize our outdated immigration system, which is very important to technology companies trying to compete for the world’s best and brightest employees. “It’s hard to imagine America competing in the battle for talent in the coming years without comprehensive immigration reform,” Klain said.
Net neutrality: For decades, Washington took a “light-touch” approach to regulating the Internet, which drove competition, accelerated innovation and ultimately fostered the vibrant and dynamic digital economy that we have today. Last year, that was replaced with an immensely heavy-handed regulatory doctrine known as “net neutrality,” which now threatens innovation and will have lasting negative implications for consumers. Ullyot agreed that the issue is near and dear to the hearts of many tech leaders and warned that the Internet’s potential will suffer from rules “proposed by a bunch of bureaucrats in D.C. instead of by people in places like Silicon Valley and Austin.”
Gig economy: Samuels pointed out that the so-called gig economy or sharing economy – basically, connecting renters and borrowers for goods and services that have traditionally been bought and sold – was discussed rather frequently during the very early stages of the election last year, but the subject “has since faded.” It’s a pivotal issue for technology companies and policymakers alike as our country’s leaders try to figure out what things like health care and retirement benefits and labor regulations will look like in the world of Uber and Lyft and Airbnb, to name a few. One of the main reasons Ullyot says he believe the subject has fallen off the election radar is because several of the candidates, he said, “want to talk about the past, not the future, and this is really about the future.”
Other emerging issues: Some of the technology that’s entering the marketplace today seemed like science fiction only a decade ago – innovations like drones, wearable technology and driverless cars. How the next administration decides to regulate those technologies will have a lasting impact on the pace of innovation moving forward, Klain said. But thus far, these issues are flying under the radar on the campaign trail. “We can’t expect to live in a country where drone are flying overhead, driverless trucks are driving down the road, and technology is crawling through our bloodstreams, and expect regulations not to be important,” he said. “So the outcome of this election is going to have a major impact on innovation in that respect.”
While there’s a lot at stake for technology companies in this presidential election, they’re not the only ones watching closely – or speaking out – as the election season moves forward. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and business leaders from an array of industries have expressed their hopes and expectations for the next president through the Dear 45 campaign, letting those vying for the White House know how the next president can support businesses and jumpstart the economy.
Through the campaign, we have heard about many of the same issues raised during the panel discussion in Austin on Monday, with business leaders calling for immigration reforms, expanded trade opportunities, and more effective education and skills training programs. But that’s only the beginning: from regulatory and tax reform to cybersecurity protections and infrastructure spending, there’s a lot of important work awaiting the 45th president on day one, as well as a number of emerging issues that he or she will have to be ready to tackle in the years ahead.
While conversations like the one in Austin are enormously important, technology leaders and the broader business community must continue to stay engaged in the election beyond SXSW – indeed, all the way through November. Through the Dear 45 campaign, we can make sure that happens.
J.D. Harrison is the senior editor for digital content at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he writes extensively about health care, immigration, infrastructure, regulations and a host of other issues that influence the decisions of executives, employers and entrepreneurs.