Sam Sabin
Morning Consult
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by Sam:
After a Year in Washington, Food Delivery Apps Strategize for Battles Ahead
In the past year, as restaurants closed their doors to diners during the pandemic and became more reliant on the delivery apps that used to provide a sliver of their annual sales, Silicon Valley’s venture capital-backed food delivery darlings established roots in Washington. → Read More
Tech Policy Has a Diversity Problem. A New Report Indicates Few Know the Actual Extent of It
In a new report from Public Knowledge released Monday, the tech policy nonprofit sought answers to two questions: What does the early-career tech policy workforce look like? And how could those organizations diversify their talent pipeline? → Read More
Delay of Presidential Election Result Casts Spotlight on Social Media’s Misinformation Problem
As the United States again heads down a long-anticipated timeline where the presidential election results don’t arrive on election night, a wave of disinformation aimed at undermining the ballot-counting process is already swarming the larger social media platforms, putting their newly minted election-related content moderation policies to the test. → Read More
California, Texas and New Jersey Employers Have the Most to Lose From H-1B Restrictions
The innovation economies in California, Texas and New Jersey could stand to be hit the hardest in the long term as a suspension on awarding new H-1B visas continues through the end of the year, according to a Morning Consult analysis of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data. → Read More
As TikTok and Huawei Restrictions Mount, Americans See China as Top Threat to Silicon Valley’s Tech Dominance
With the backdrop of the Trump administration’s continued restrictions and threats against China-based Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok, a new survey indicates that Americans see China as the top threat to Silicon Valley’s dominance in the global tech industry. → Read More
How to Close the Homework Gap Is Still up for Debate in Congress
With many schools preparing to return to digital learning in one form or another in a matter of weeks, students, teachers and other school officials who lack at-home internet access and devices are left with an unanswered question: Will more federal funds be funneled to school districts to close the educational digital divide? → Read More
Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Social Media’s Content Policies: Instant Reaction
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday targeting social media companies’ content moderation policies, imploring the Federal Trade Commission to review complaints of political bias on the platforms and the Federal Communications Commission to review how it regulates liability protections afforded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. → Read More
Senate and House Democrats Introduce COVID-19 Privacy Bill Targeting Contact Tracing Apps
As privacy concerns grow about the data collected through contact tracing apps to monitor the spread of the coronavirus, a group of Democratic lawmakers is introducing a bill Thursday that aims to ensure that the data collected is protected from over-surveillance and abuse, according to a copy of a draft press release seen by Morning Consult. → Read More
Sen. Markey Bill Proposes Bolstering FCC’s E-Rate Program With $4 Billion Fund
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) will release his anticipated legislation today establishing a $4 billion emergency connectivity fund to strengthen a Federal Communications Commission program so qualifying schools and libraries can purchase Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers and other connected devices for students during the COVID-19 pandemic, his office confirmed to Morning Consult. → Read More
Experts: Efforts to Expand Telehealth in Pandemic Still Leaving Rural U.S. Behind
As the Trump administration moves to lower barriers to using virtual health care services during the coronavirus pandemic, experts say the efforts will still leave a key demographic struggling to access the online services in the outbreak: older, higher-risk Americans in rural communities who lack high-speed internet. → Read More
2 in 5 Adults Rate Social Media as 'Poor' at Curbing Coronavirus Misinformation
According to a new Morning Consult survey conducted March 10-12, 2020, a plurality of 38 percent said social media companies are doing a “poor” job of preventing the spread of false information about coronavirus on their platforms, while another 25 percent said they were doing a “fair” job. → Read More
EARN IT Act: Instant Reaction
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced the highly anticipated Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act, or EARN IT Act, Thursday, which proposes threatening a tech platform's Section 230 liability protections if the company doesn't take proper measures to curb the distribution of child sexual abuse content on its sites. → Read More
Last Parts of Staff Draft Bill on Autonomous Vehicles Expected This Week, Aides Say
The last sections of a staff draft bill to regulate self-driving cars, including language around cybersecurity guidelines, are set to be released this week, according to congressional aides familiar with the negotiations, following months of bipartisan, bicameral talks about the highly anticipated legislative issue. → Read More
After Q3 Surge, Warren Becomes Top Draw for Big Tech Employees’ Donations in 2019
Between July and September, the Massachusetts senator raised $125,305 from employees at Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc. and subsidiaries, capping her most successful quarter yet and bringing her total in that group to $254,717, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission data. → Read More
Hawley Suggests Facebook Sell Instagram, WhatsApp in Zuckerberg Meeting
Hawley told reporters that during his first meeting with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Hawley proposed a solution to the social media company’s regulatory woes: selling off Instagram and WhatsApp, which he said would prove that Facebook is not afraid of competition and doesn’t “have to buy companies to innovate.” → Read More
3 in 5 GOP Voters Believe There’s Social Media Bias Against Conservatives
Sixty percent of Republican voters agreed with the idea that social media companies practice conservative bias and prevent the spread of conservative content, compared to 16 percent of self-identified Democrats and independents, according to a new Morning Consult/Politico survey. → Read More
House Lawmakers Target September, October for Data Privacy Bill, Aides Say
As talks on a data privacy bill reportedly lose steam in the Senate, two Democratic House aides familiar with ongoing discussions said the House Energy and Commerce Committee is targeting the end of September or early October to introduce its own version of privacy legislation. → Read More
Reps. Pallone, Walden Unveil Bipartisan-Backed Robocall Measure
The Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a new bill Thursday aimed at combating the increasing number of illegal robocalls -- feeding the growing momentum on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation targeting the issue this year. → Read More
Ad Industry Trade Groups Unite in New Privacy-Focused Lobbying Effort
In the next few weeks, members of a nascent advertising industry-backed coalition are set to meet with stakeholders in Congress, the White House and a handful of agencies to make their case for a federal privacy bill. → Read More
House Unlikely to Pick Up a Senate Data Privacy Bill, Democratic House Aide Says
When the Senate introduces its draft data privacy bill, which will reportedly suggest overriding similar state laws, in a few weeks, it will not likely be picked up by the House, a Democratic House aide said Thursday, as Democratic leaders are expected to want to draft their own bill. → Read More