In 2020, the role of technology as a playing field in the geopolitical struggle between democracy and authoritarianism was magnified. While some governments like China seized control of their information environments; democracies were disadvantaged [...]
The contest with authoritarianism requires the United States to understand its strengths. Upon winning the presidency, Joe Biden promised to lead “not by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.” That pledge is important, because [...]
Every December, the Alliance for Securing Democracy team tries to take a step back and look at the foreign interference landscape, and to take stock of where new laws and policies would have the greatest impact at strengthening our institutions from [...]
This paper is the first in a series on technology policy through the lens of national security, published in partnership with the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. Introduction Open societies have [...]
The United States Congress passed the William M. Thornberry Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, an annual bill (generally known as the NDAA) that designates funding for the Department of Defense, on a bipartisan basis. Priorities outline [...]
On December 10, the Alliance for Securing Democracy hosted a virtual event with Ambassador Eric Edelman, Ambassador Samantha Power, and Dr. Kori Schake on steps the United States can take to regain the initiative in the emerging competition with aut [...]
Ambassador Eric Edelman, Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence at John Hopkins’ Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, Co-Chair of ASD’s Offset Strategy for Democracies Task Force Ambassador Samantha Power, Anna Lindh Professor of the Practi [...]
As the votes were counted in the 2020 U.S. election, blacklisted China-registered technology company Huawei positioned itself on Twitter as a steadfast vendor in European markets regardless of the election results. The common narrative within these [...]
Introduction Europe is on the cusp of a crucial technological and political transformation. This year, most EU member states will need to finalize plans for building 5G networks, which will overhaul the way their economies function. Only a handful [...]
The unfolding saga over TikTok and WeChat will have lasting impact far beyond the availability of dance videos and lip syncs. Reporters, tech watchers, First Amendment scholars and social media influencers alike are anxiously watching each twist in [...]
Fellow for Emerging Technologies Lindsay Gorman joined Jocelyn Aqua of PwG and Kenneth Popp of Georgetown Law to discuss digital privacy and security and recommendations for the next administration in a panel discussion at the Center for the Study o [...]
In mid-2020, the Alliance for Securing Democracy convened a task force of 30 leading American national security and foreign policy experts to devise a national strategy for the United States to offset autocratic advances in non-military domains of [...]
In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell interviews former FBI Special Agent Clint Watts, current Distinguished Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Non-Resident Fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democra [...]
A Future Internet for Democracies: Contesting China’s Push for Dominance in 5G, 6G, and the Internet of Everything Lindsay Gorman, Fellow for Emerging Technologies at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, discusses China's lead in shaping the future [...]
Executive Summary Democracies and Authoritarian Regimes in Competition for the Future Internet The United States and its democratic allies are engaged in a contest for the soul of the Future Internet. Conceived as a beacon of free expression with [...]
Geopolitics over the next several decades will be defined by competition between democracies and autocracies. This contest is already playing out across the military, economic and diplomatic domains—and in the information arena as well. As former Pr [...]
ASD Fellow for Malign Finance Josh Rudolph joined Levi Gundert and Jesse Spiro in a panel discussion on the role of cryptocurrency in election interference at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). [...]
Overview On September 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that new restrictions would be placed on WeChat and TikTok, two social media apps owned by Chinese companies, effectively banning the apps from being downloaded from U.S. app [...]
Fellow for Emerging Technologies Lindsay Gorman joined Adam Segal of the Council of Foreign Relations and Clete Williams of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in an online panel discussion at the National Press Foundation to discuss the dangers [...]
This policy paper was co-authored with Edgar P. Tam, visiting senior fellow at the Paris Office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Please click the link at the right to view the full paper. President Donald Trump’s views on Iran hav [...]
ASD Fellow for Emerging Technologies Lindsay Gorman moderated a GMF Face Off Debate between Rep. Mike Gallagher (Wisconsin's 8th District) and Member of the European Parliament Miriam Lexmann (Slovakia) on the question of whether Chinese diplomats s [...]
ASD Non-Resident Fellow Clint Watts co-authored a piece on deepfakes and their impact on American democracy with Tim Hwang of the University of Texas at Austin in the Washington Post. [...]
ASD Director Zack Cooper and Media and Digital Disinformation Fellow Bret Schafer joined Girma Parris of Case Western Reserve University on a panel at The City Club of Cleveland to discuss the United States' disinformation and election security prep [...]
On Thursday, August 6, the Trump administration announced two executive orders that would bar any transactions with Chinese social media networks TikTok and WeChat by any person or involving any property in subject to the jurisdiction of the United [...]
Heavy coverage of the explosion in Beirut was substantial enough to break through the coronavirus news cycle, reflected in the fact that #Beirut was the third most-used hashtag by Russian, Iranian, and Chinese state media and government accounts las [...]
Overview President Trump’s executive order last week outlining plans to effectively ban Chinese short-form video app TikTok from the U.S. market triggered a predictable backlash from China’s state media and government officials, who accused the U.S. [...]
Director Laura Rosenberger appeared on the "Diplomates Podcast" to discuss the escalating threat of foreign interference, whether social media giants are doing enough to prevent misinformation, if Tiktok should be banned, what democracies must do to [...]
Introduction One morning in 2016, staffers from the National Security Council and the Office of the U.S. Chief Technology Officer boarded a black van outside the West Wing. They were on a field trip to the State Department led by U.S. CTO Megan Sm [...]
To counter authoritarian information manipulation and control, the United States needs to support free expression and harness innovation through organizations like the Open Tech Fund, Emerging Technologies Fellow Lindsay Gorman and Karen Kornbluh, d [...]
Emerging Technologies Fellow Lindsay Gorman spoke to Newsy's Sasha Ingber about U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's assertion that users' private information from the video-sharing app could be turned over to the Chinese government. [...]
Introduction In a 1972 paper for the United States Air Force Project at RAND, the late Andrew Marshall defined what he called a more “efficient, effective U.S. competitive role.”A.W. Marshall, Long-Term Competition with the Soviets: A Framework fo [...]
ASD Emerging Technologies Fellow Lindsay Gorman, Harvard's Hugo Yen, and Virginia Tech's David Simpson provide a brief overview of 5G technology and related policy considerations for Harvard Belfer Center's Technology Factsheet Series. Introducti [...]
Fellow and Program Manager Nad'a Kovalčíková was interviewed on Women in International Security's new podcast on the evolution of NATO in the digital age. [...]
American companies like Zoom need to support our values of openness and freedom of information at home and abroad, Emerging Technologies Fellow Lindsay Gorman argues in Newsweek. Americans are increasingly relying on video conferencing software fo [...]
Kristine Berzina joined Euronews to discuss President Trump's announcement to remove U.S. troops from Germany, the impact this decision will have on NATO, and NATO's posture towards China. [...]
Emerging Technologies Fellow Lindsay Gorman joined a group of experts to discuss Zoom's recent episode where it blocked accounts at Beijing's request and whether or not it's possible for foreign companies with a presence in China to maintain their s [...]
In an op-ed for EUobserver, Senior Fellow Kristine Berzina, Emerging Technologies Fellow Lindsay Gorman, and Fellow and Program Manager Nad'a Kovalcikova argue that TikTok's membership in the EU's Code of Practice on Disinformation risks prematurely [...]
Emerging Technologies Fellow Lindsay Gorman defines deepfakes, explains how they are often used, and explains the threat they pose to our democracy in a video for Girl Security's #defendurreality campaign. This video contains a discussion of one of [...]
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security warn that China is targeting U.S. drug companies, universities, and researchers. China denies it. Emerging Technologies Fellow Lindsay Gorman joins Newsy to discuss the implications. In the coronavirus er [...]
Instead of restricting Chinese students from U.S. academic and scientific research, U.S. concerns and policy responses should focus on how to counter the tactics and mechanisms that China’s party-state exploits for tech transfer, Emerging Technologi [...]