How Techno-Populism Is Undermining Innovation

Recent policy debates on technology issues, including the fights over net neutrality and SOPA, have been dominated by heated and overblown populist rhetoric, rather than fact-based policy analysis to advance the public interest. A new report from ITIF argues that an us vs. them populism has taken over technological debates in recent years and has had a deleterious effect on policymaking. The problem is not that debates have become more open and participatory, but rather that many who choose to engage do so from a position of fear, anger, or misunderstanding. Instead, the authors argue, policymakers and advocates should embrace “tech progressivism” based on an embrace of innovation and reason.

Please join ITIF for an event to learn more about this report. ITIF will be joined by a series of panelists to discuss what tech populism means for the policy debates and how policymakers can bring the debate back to facts and reason, instead of spin and distortion, to further innovation for all.