Chancellor Hagerott will moderate panel discussion on ‘The States vs. Big Tech’ April 15

“The States vs Big Tech: Virtual Panel Discussion,” will be held Thursday, April 15, 2021, at 12 p.m. CDT. The discussion will be moderated by North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott.

Since Dakota Digital Academy and Dakota Digital Review kicked off last fall, many stories about censorship and other perceived Big Tech power excesses have dominated the news—along with growing pushback from citizens and government. In North Dakota’s current legislative session, a bill (SB 2333) was introduced, garnering national attention that put North Dakota at the center of the mounting tension between Big Tech and the nation’s 50 states.

“North Dakota is part of a new front in the battle over Big Tech and its power,” reported Jack Nicas in “Big Tech’s Unlikely Next battleground: North Dakota,” published in the New York Times in February. “Frustrated with a lack of action from courts, regulators and Congress, tech rivals and critics are turning their attention to state legislatures, pushing bills that seek to tax the biggest tech companies, rein in their power and limit their control over the internet.”

Both Democrats and Republicans in other states, including New York, Florida, Texas, Maryland, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Minnesota, are considering or have introduced legislation to curtail Big Tech. More bills in additional state legislatures will follow, as efforts at the federal level show bluster—recall the U.S. Senate hearings on Big Tech censorship last fall—but often end in a whimper.

To delve deeper into the increasing importance of state challenges to Big Tech influence, Dakota Digital Review will host a virtual panel discussion (thanks to Big Tech’s many benefits), “The States vs Big Tech,” on Thursday, April 15 at 12-1 p.m. CDT. The panel will be moderated by Chancellor Mark Hagerott and includes Sen. Kyle Davison, who introduced SB 2333; Lacee Bjork Anderson, the lobbyist who brought the legislative proposal to Sen. Davison; Assistant Professor Nikola Datzov, UND School of Law; Kaelan Reedy, UND Student Body Vice President; and Ken Nygard, PhD, Director of the Dakota Digital Academy and Emeritus Professor, Department of Computer Science, NDSU.

To register for “The State vs Big Tech,” please go to: https://ndus.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aYwIR6iOp7Jizk2. A calendar invitation will be sent to those that register a couple days prior to the event that will include a link to connect to the discussion.