Better tech in Texas is group’s goal

The digital age is the best technological leap ahead in human historical past. Technological improvement has linked people, companies, governments, social causes and extra as by no means earlier than. Communication that was once restricted by bodily distances can now be performed instantaneously, with a number of keystrokes and the press of a button.

This development raises ethical and cultural questions on expertise getting used for good or for evil. The traditional Greeks had a time period for this: pharmakon, a medication or poison. Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben gave us a contemporary tackle pharmakon: “With nice energy comes nice accountability.” Within the expertise house, people, firms, and even governments have nice energy to make use of expertise for good, however we have to be vigilant to make sure expertise is just not used for dangerous, dangerous, or nefarious functions.

To assist drive this dialog, the Texas Public Coverage Basis not too long ago launched its new expertise coverage initiative known as Higher Tech for Tomorrow. The guts of Higher Tech for Tomorrow is advancing sound conservative public coverage, undergirded by data-driven analysis.

Higher Tech for Tomorrow is a forward-thinking strategy to expertise, emphasizing a light-touch regulatory setting that gives the best alternative for continued innovation, whereas respecting the privateness, safety and dignity of Texans. Texas can change into a nationwide and world expertise chief. Texas’ financial system, tax system, power and regulatory setting are main attracts to entrepreneurs, attracting dozens of expertise corporations in fields equivalent to knowledge, automation, synthetic intelligence, house and blockchain, amongst others.

To do that, the Texas Public Coverage Basis will construct a coalition of organizations, business leaders, people and lawmakers dedicated to creating Texas the premier state for principled technological innovation, enacting coverage options in areas like knowledge privateness, client safety and broadband.

A state knowledge privateness legislation, also called a Digital Invoice of Rights, is our prime precedence. Whereas there may be an business push for a nationwide knowledge privateness legislation, states needn’t anticipate federal motion on this necessary difficulty. Solely 5 states have enacted knowledge privateness legal guidelines. A knowledge privateness legislation offers people extra management over their knowledge by clarifying what knowledge could be collected and held, and the way entities can use this knowledge. Finally, it is a private and personal property difficulty, not a difficulty of company profiteering.

A second coverage precedence is a parental empowerment and client safety measure to guard minors from dangerous content material, obscene supplies, intercourse predators and human traffickers, on-line and on social media. Even inner knowledge from social media corporations exhibits that social media use is dangerous to minors, so this is able to empower dad and mom to make knowledgeable selections on expertise use.

A 3rd precedence is broadband coverage. Broadband growth is essential to equitable web entry and reliability for Texans, no matter their location. Texas will obtain greater than $600 million {dollars} in federal funding for broadband infrastructure, and TPPF needs to make sure this cash is spent transparently and prudently, focused to the areas most in want of high-speed web.

TPPF can even analysis and supply coverage suggestions on censorship and free speech points, blockchain expertise and cybersecurity, amongst different areas.

States should stand within the hole to guard the rights and liberties of the individuals from federal and company overreach. Texas’ individuals, values and sources uniquely place the state to be the chief for a brand new technological revolution embodying these ideas. Texas has the components to guide a conservative, values-driven strategy to technological innovation and coverage.

Zach Whiting is a former Iowa state senator and a senior fellow on the Texas Public Coverage Basis. He wrote this for The Dallas Morning Information.