Hillary Clinton’s Tech Plan: Internet Access Is a Necessity

July 6, 2016

Team Hillary just released her Tech & Innovation Plan

She believes Internet access is a necessity in a global economy, not a luxury, and we need to lead the way in education, accessibility and innovation. Here’s a synopsis of Hillary Clinton’s Tech Plan:

“Doing this right will not only boost economic growth, it will lead to immeasurable social benefits…”

Her Tech Plan has 5 main initiatives:

ONE: Create new jobs in technology through education and policies to support entrepreneurial ecosystems

The agenda supports the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) in schools to offer more opportunities for students to learn these skills.

Less than 1 in 5 high school students has taken a Computer Science course. She proposes to:

Double the investment in CS grants and programs
Provide funds for new teachers and more training
Support alternative degree programs outside of traditional schools
Diversify the tech workforce
Increase access to capital for startups and minority owned businesses
Defer student loans for entrepreneurs
Enable international students who complete degrees in STEM fields to move to green card status
Make benefits portable for the independent workforce.

TWO: Get everyone online

30% of Americans still don’t have access to a broadband provider, particularly in low income rural areas. Hillary believes this is not a luxury. She wants to connect every household to high-speed broadband, increase Internet adoption, and help hook up anchor institutions so they can offer free WiFi to the public. Hillary will also take action to help America widely deploy 5G technology.

Grants would support localities in:

Giving cities, regions, and states incentives to create a “model digital community”
Streamlining permits and processes
Coordinating the building of infrastructure with existing fiber
Create a “continuum of connectivity”—the ability for people to get online in homes and offices, schools, libraries, transit systems, and other public spaces
Foster the evolution to 5G, small cell solutions, and other next-generation systems that can deliver faster wireless connections
Enhance the efficient use of spectrum by accelerating the process of identifying underutilized bands, including ones now used by the federal government, that would “unleash a new wave of innovation in wireless broadband technologies and the Internet of Things”
Dedicate federal research funding to test-bedding, field trials, and other public-private endeavors to speed the deployment of next generation wireless networks and a civic Internet of Things.

THREE: Advance America’s global leadership in tech and innovation

Hillary believes the most technically proficient economies will be the most prosperous. And that Internet freedom and advanced technology is a part of foreign policy. She proposes to:

Support an open flow of data across borders and access to digital markets
Oppose efforts to block or degrade Internet access or to shut down social media
Fight to defend the Internet from government takeover
Advance Export Control Reform, pursue policies to protect U.S. trade secrets and IP, and resist calls for forced tech transfer or localization of data
Promote Cyber-Security at home and abroad
Promote the free flow of information internationally
Modernize procedures for sharing data across borders in response to legitimate law enforcement investigations.

FOUR: Reduce government red tape barriers to innovation

Hillary believes government has an important role in reducing barriers to tech innovation. At the same time, we should be ensuring that advances in technology and information technology protect individual privacy and security. She proposes to:

Appoint a Chief Innovation Advisor who would spearhead reforms across the government that streamline processes and foster innovation
Encourage states to reduce restrictive laws that protect existing businesses from allowing new innovators
Detect antitrust violations that restrict competition
Defend Net Neutrality
Improve the patent system
Modernize the copyright system
Support data privacy without stifling innovation
Create a national commission on digital security and encryption.

FIVE: Create a smarter and more innovative government

Technology can make government simpler and more user friendly. Hillary proposes:

Making digital services a priority for government agencies
Redesign the top 25 citizen used services
Streamline procurement processes and get rid of unnecessary internal red tape
Make it easier for the government to use cost-effective technology including open source technology
Open up more government data for public use
Facilitate citizen involvement in government innovation
Embrace the practice of prioritized goal setting and performance tracking for the federal government.