Alan Davidson (@abdavidson) profile picture

Databricks. Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce and NTIA Administrator. Ex-Mozilla, ex-Google, ex-CDT. Technology + Policy. Dad.

Joined September 2008
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Grateful to be confirmed today to serve as Assistant Secretary of Commerce @NTIAgov. My thanks to @SecRaimondo and the many supporters who made this possible. Now on to the work of connecting America and building a better Internet.
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I am so honored to be named by @POTUS to serve our country as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Administrator of @NTIAgov. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to close the Digital Divide, make the best use of our airwaves, and build a better Internet for all.
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And congratulations to @JRosenworcel and @gigibsohn - two terrific public servants - on their historic FCC appointments. I look forward to working closely with them both.
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Great reminder @amac: Many of the most pro-consumer, pro-innovation features of Internet law today are not random but the product of principled organizations and people fighting for important things, sometimes over years and at great cost.
With the Oracle decision today, Google wins the third of a set of big copyright cases about decisions made >10yrs ago by a strong team of lawyers with whom I was privileged to work: 1) book search is fair use 2) the DMCA protects YouTube 3) Android's use Java APIs is fair use
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Another historic and frustrating tech CEO hearing today. Nobody should walk away satisfied. That may be just the recipe needed for action. energycommerce.house.gov/com…
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The @jack open social media protocol has real promise and was underexplored once again. It remains one of the best product ideas out there for giving users more control over their feeds.
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The tech CEOs risk winning the battle but losing the war. No viral slipups, but no changed minds either. A bipartisan majority is fed up and wants action. The wheels of Congress move slowly, but this was a first step.
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Respect.
Discussed signaling and transmission in the telephone local loop today in my surveillance class and it reminded me of what an utterly amazing piece of engineering POTS telephony is.
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Repeal Section 230? Leave it alone? Something in between? Something else entirely? Diving into these questions and what might actually happen in DC, with the excellent @ellgood @oliviersylvain @ericgoldman @glakier Tuesday at #SOTN2021.
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Joe Biden and fmr President Trump agreed on only one thing: Section 230 needed to be "revoked, immediately." But amending 230 is more likely. Our experts - @abdavidson @oliviersylvain @glakier @ellgood @ericgoldman - will break down the myriad proposals. sotn2021.eventbrite.com
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Reading through these orders is like reliving the worst moments of the last Administration, only in reverse. It's been a good day for America.
Today @POTUS will sign executive orders to: * Rejoin Paris Climate Accord * Require masks for fed buildings & employees * End Muslim travel ban * Bring back DACA * Pause student loans, mortgage payments & evictions With historic challenges, this Administration is #ReadyonDayOne.
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This just in: So pleased to share “Reimagine Open”, a paper examining how an updated vision of “openness” can create the better Internet we need. With @mozilla @MitchellBaker @amunyua @ambaonadventure and online here: blog.mozilla.org/blog/2021/0…
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Today’s internet moved away from this. “Open” is a watered-down term. Open standards became closed platforms. Companies build walled gardens but call them open. And old tools for accountability have failed to scale. The result: An internet we know can be better.
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We can build a healthier internet with an updated vision of open. Needed: New tech w. a commitment to open standards/sw; demand for healthy open products; tougher regulation to protect users/promote open. A reimagined open internet is the key to the better online life we need.
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