LGBT Tech and The Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP) have partnered to convene a thought-provoking series: Moving the Conversation Forward. This series is a platform designed to bring together the brightest minds advocating for minority communities in a continued effort to discuss, educate and highlight issues and challenges facing minority communities around technology and telecommunications in the United States. Our hope is to continue advancing positive change for minority communities through collaborative discussions, highlighting potential solutions and actionable steps to take to create inclusive policies.
In our second event, held July 26, 2017 at the AT&T Forum, we hosted a panel of experts to discuss privacy and technology policy issues for minority communities. Francisco Montero from Heald & Hildreth, Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee from The Brookings Institute and Kristal High Taylor from Politics365 brought their unique perspective to this pressing issue that overwhelmingly affects minority communities. Below are some of the topics discussed during the engaging conversation:
Transgendered community: The discussion centered around the attacks on the transgendered community by the current administration, specifically relating to privacy and shared information regarding solutions to these challenges
Privacy/vulnerability climate: The group discussed the current privacy climate in this country, the opportunities and vulnerabilities, as it relates to the Internet ecosystem. The panelists shared actionable steps on how to take advantage of the many great new opportunities while remaining fully aware of privacy vulnerabilities
Limited knowledge about the Internet ecosystem: The group analyzed the lack of understanding of how the Internet works and how fears and false narratives are spread as a manifestation of this lack of knowledge
Innovation and privacy: The panelists discussed how it is crucially important that minority communities stay informed and ahead of the curve as it relates to innovation and associated privacy issues as technology continues to advance
Privacy and Legislation: The discussion focused on technology legislation being extremely outdated and how that can have a negative impact on privacy. The panelists put forward ideas for guidelines to allow the Internet to flourish by updating decades-old rules and focusing on strong comprehensive pro-consumer privacy rules
About HTTP: The Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP) is the leading national Latino voice on telecommunications and technology policy issues. HTTP's mission is to promote access, adoption and the full utilization of technology and telecommunications resources by the Hispanic community in the United States through advocacy and by serving as a national voice for Hispanics on issues related to technology and telecommunications.
About LGBT Tech: The LGBT Technology Partnership brings together cutting edge tech companies, nonprofit organizations, policy makers, scholars and innovators to improve access, increase inclusion, ensure safety and empower entrepreneurship for LGBT communities around technology.