March 2016

Each 2016 presidential candidate has addressed a number of issues over the last few months, but their stances on tech issues have not often made it onto the debate. The rapid advancement of technology and its continuous proliferation raise several matters for the next presidential administration to address. If voted into office, how does each candidate plan to address Internet sales tax, cybersecurity, smartphone encryption, and network neutrality?

At this stage, the candidates’ statements provide a general sense of direction but no detailed policy predictions. None of the candidates are technology experts, and once in office, the future president will have to consult with specialists. How policies and legislation will really turn out for Internet sales tax, cyber security, encryption, and net neutrality will depend on the administration as a whole rather than the president alone.

The Department of Defense is inviting hackers to look for vulnerabilites in its network, analyze the security of its public-facing webpages, and attempt to break into its systems. The program, "Hack the Pentagon," is the federal government’s first bug bounty program and will be modeled after those of private companies. The program details are still being worked out, but monetary rewards are in the realm of possibilities. The DoD will clarify in the coming weeks. Not just anyone can hack into the network and call it research, however. Participants will have to register and submit to a background check before looking for bugs. Once they’re vetted, researchers will be given a predetermined department system and a set amount of time to access it.

The program will launch in April and is part of the government’s massive cybersecurity plan announced last month. Bug bounty programs grew in popularity over the past few years as companies launched not only their own private programs but also outsourced the effort to "hackers for hire" groups, like HackerOne. Letting public researchers investigate networks gives companies an opportunity to test their security in the real world. Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, Microsoft, United Airlines, Tesla, and multiple other big names have collectively doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of rewards for their programs.

YouTube is launching a global production program and partnering with the United Nations in an effort to highlight and support women's voices across the platform. The video networks will invest in videos created by female filmmakers through the global YouTube Spaces program, which puts women in front of and behind the camera. And the year-long UN partnership will see a group of female creators advocating for gender equality as the first "change ambassadors" for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Action campaign.

Over the past few months, YouTube has invited a select group of women to serve as creative directors and mentor other female creators at its production facilities known as YouTube Spaces across the globe. Six YouTubers — Anna Akana (US), Alexys Fleming (US), Julia Veiga Faria (Brazil), Em Ford (UK), Nilam Farooq (Germany) and Kuma Miki (Japan) — were selected as creative directors in their respective YouTube Spaces and helped film over 50 videos including vides produced by Michelle Phan and GloZell that cover everything from original scripted content to women's issues to tributes to female leaders throughout history. As for the partnership with the UN, YouTube has selected Ingrid Nilsen, Jackie Aina, Yuya, Taty Ferreira, Hayla Ghazal, Louise Pentland, and Chika Yoshida as the first group of women on the platform to serve as Change Ambassadors for the UN's Sustainable Development Action campaign. The women will work with the UN during their year-long appointment to "inspire and activate their global fan communities" and create videos to promote gender equality.