Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign has unveiled a detailed new position paper that lays out the candidate's positions and planned agenda, if elected, around technology and innovation.
The full document is well worth reading, but here's a look at some of the most important elements it contains.
Broadband for All By 2020?: Probably the single most ambitious goal outlined in the document is a pledge to have "the option of affordable broadband" available to every American household by 2020. This will be achieved through investments in programs such as the Connect America Fund, Rural Utilities Service Program, "and by directing federal agencies to consider the full range of technologies as potential recipients—i.e., fiber, fixed wireless, and satellite—while focusing on areas that lack any fixed broadband networks currently," according to the paper.
Clinton also plans to create a $25 billion "Infrastructure Bank" that would give out grants to communities that want to develop more broadband access through means such as streamlined regulations for private ISPs as well as public-private partnerships with carriers; support for rapid adoption of 5G wireless networks; and funding that would allow more "anchor institutions—such as schools, airports and recreation centers—to provide free broadband access to the public.
There's no doubt Clinton's broadband plan is detailed and ambitious, but one stumbling block is the definition of broadband itself. As Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols notes at ZDnet, the Federal Communications Commission now defines broadband as 25Mbps downstream and 4Mbps upstream, compared to the previous standard of 4Mpbs down/1Mbps up, and no state currently meets the new broadband parameters on average.
Backing Net Neutrality: Clinton intends to vigorously defend the "Net Neutrality" rules enacted by the FCC under President Obama's administration last year. Internet carriers in the US are now considered public utilities and subject to regulation under Title II rules—the same rules developed to regulate telephone companies.
Industry groups have decried the new rules, saying they will stifle innovation and investment and pave the way for higher fees and taxes on broadband services, as well as provide the government with too much control over the Internet.
Clinton says she will continue enforcing the rules and defending them in court. An appeals court this month shot down a lawsuit the broadband industry filed to overturn the new rules, but a Supreme Court appeal is planned. Guessing how that might play out is more difficult given the current vacancy on the Court. Republican senators have declined to take a vote on Merrick Garland, Obama's nominee to replace the late Antonin Scalia.
Another question is whether current FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler would continue in that role under a Clinton administration. Wheeler was a staunch advocate of the Title II imposition on broadband providers and is an outspoken advocate of Net Neutrality in general. The FCC is an independent agency, although its commissioners are appointed by the president and serve five-year terms.
Don't Feed the Trolls: Clinton plans to continue policies developed under the Obama administration around fighting patent trolls. "But costly and abusive litigation remains, which is why Hillary supports additional targeted rule changes," the document states. These will include laws to stop "forum shopping"—the practice of looking for the most favorable court to file a patent suit—as well as to "increase transparency in ownership by making patent litigants disclose the real party in interest."
One major issue concerning frivolous patent cases has been the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's inability to examine, approve or deny patent applications in a timely manner. To this end, Clinton would push for laws that provide the PTO with more resources to hire personnel and adopt new technologies. How this gets executed is key, however—a faster patent examination process runs the risk of simply approving more frivolous patents, after all.
Aid for Entrepreneurs: Billing it as a way to spark entrepreneurship among new college graduates, Clinton is proposing to let those who want to start a new business defer their student loan payments for up to three years. Moreoever, Clinton says she will "explore" expanding the deferment option not only to startup founders but also a number of their initial employees.
Clinton's proposal doesn't confine the deferments to entrepreneurs with STEM degrees. But the policy would be a giveaway to such individuals since they will likely earn a high income in their careers whether or not an initial startup succeeds, argues Alexander Holt, a higher education analyst with the New America Foundation think tank.
Clinton also proposes the forgiveness of up to $17,500 in student loan debt after five years to those who start a business in "distressed communities" or develop "social enterprises that provide measurable social impact and benefit." It's not clear from the document how either of those measures would be defined.
Supercharging STEM: Clinton is proposing a variety of programs aimed at improving STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education in the public schools. Currently only 7 percent of U.S. high schools offer an advanced placement course in computer science, Clinton says. She proposes a sizable increase in grant money for computer science courses and a goal of expanding the pool of computer science teachers by to 50,000 over the next 10 years.
Clinton's plan also addresses STEM in higher education. She would "staple" a green card to foreign students who complete STEM master degrees and PhDs from accredited institutions, thereby giving them permanent residency status and more of a reason to stay and work here, rather than return home. Clinton can expect this proposal to meet resistance from critics, who say it could depress IT wages and encourage age discrimination in hiring, as Computerworld's Patrick Thibodeau notes.
The Bottom Line: Clinton's tech position paper runs a full, densely-worded 15 pages, but despite the apparent level of detail some proposals are articulated more vaguely than others—par for the course with such political documents. It's nonetheless worth a close read and will provide ample fodder for debate as the campaign continues. However, as of yet presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has not released anything like it and his campaign website has little discussion of technology issues.
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