Tech and Politics Meet at Innovations in Silicon Beach Event
With technological innovation accelerating at an astonishing pace, it can be hard to tell the opportunities apart from the dangers. Humanity is poised to make some big strides in the years ahead. But headlines about things like the Equifax hack and Elon Musk’s warnings of an AI apocalypse stir the public’s anxieties about tech. Our […]
Tech Leaders Talk Big Changes at the Start of Tech Week
President Trump’s “tech week” kicked off Monday with an unusual scene: leaders of the tech community, usually ambivalent or downright outspoken on the president, saying nice things about his tech policies. This buttering-up unfolded in front of cameras, but the real work was accomplished in private sessions where tech leaders such as Apple CEO Tim […]
Trump Invites Tech Leaders to White House for “Tech Week”
President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating currently hovers at around 60%, and in the tech industry it’s likely even higher. For a man who has presented himself as a master businessman for the entire duration of his public life, he’s certainly done a lot to alienate the major tech businesses that drive growth and innovation in […]
Democrats Need Voters to Get Riled Up About Net Neutrality
Net neutrality is on the chopping block yet again, and the outrage is growing. Leaders in the tech community (not to mention rank and file iPhone app developers) have repeatedly made their stance clear: without net neutrality regulations in place, their businesses are in trouble. After John Oliver unleashed an epic 20 minute tirade on […]
Trump’s New Executive Order Aims to Re-examine H-1B Program
President Trump signed his “Buy American, Hire American” executive order on Tuesday, which will put the H-1B visa system under review. The order is designed to ensure that tech jobs that could be going to Americans are not being taken by cheaper foreign labor and to tighten restrictions on foreign contractors bidding on government projects, […]
H-1B Visa Policy Remains Unclear for Tech Companies
While the Trump administration has made no bones about their policy plans for illegal and unskilled immigrants, immediate plans for overhauling highly-skilled immigration via H–1B visas remains unclear. This is bad news for app developers, since it’s actually an area that needs serious attention — between the lottery-style assignment system and the ease of abuse […]
Immigration Ban is a Disaster for the Tech Economy
On January 27, Trump issued an executive order banning immigrants from select Muslim-majority countries. The shock waves are still rolling through the app development community, creating massive political backlash even from actively non-political tech giants. Critics are quick to suggest that tech companies are simply trying to protect H–1B visa programs. Fair point — H-B1 […]
Lyft vs Uber Debate is More Than Business Politics
Personal politics and business deals aren’t the only issues on the line anymore when it comes to the fabled fight between Uber and Lyft, the two biggest ride-sharing apps in the US (among other countries worldwide). Bay Area app developers have been following the conflict for years, but the issue just took a sharp turn […]
Will Tech Leaders Jump Into Politics in Next Four Years?
What is the pre-requisite to being president? “Being a billionaire,” some might argue—and many have been, or at least multi-millionaires, before running for the nations highest office. So when rumors started flying that Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook might be planning a presidential bid for 2020, the tech press didn’t bat an eye—in fact, the move […]
Obama to Pardon Manning but not Snowden in Final Hour
App developers across the country have been watching whistleblower cases with particular interest after Edward Snowden’s world-changing disclosure on the true scope of the NSA’s surveillance power. The tech community has overwhelmingly been in favor of a softer approach to Snowden and whistleblowers in general, circulating petitions for years to help pressure the Obama administration […]