Alan B. Davidson
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
Assumed office
January 14, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
SecretaryGina Raimondo
Preceded byEvelyn Remaley (acting)
Personal details
EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology (B.A., M.A.)
Yale Law School (J.D.)

Alan B. Davidson is an American government official and attorney who has served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information since January 14, 2022.[1] In this role, Davidson serves as Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Davidson previously served within the Department of Commerce during the Obama Administration, where he served as director of digital economy.[2] Prior to joining the NTIA, Davidson worked at the Mozilla Foundation, where he was a senior adviser and former vice president.[3] Earlier in his career, Davidson worked at non-profit advocacy organizations including the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), and as a public policy staffer for Google.[3]

Education

Davidson received a bachelor's degree in mathematics and computer science and a master's degree in technology and policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He later attended Yale Law School, where he was symposium editor of the Yale Law Journal.[4]

Career

Davidson began his career as a computer scientist and later joined Booz Allen & Hamilton as a senior consultant.[4]

Google

Davidson was hired as Google’s first policy staffer in 2005, and has been credited with helping boost the firm's lobbying presence in Washington, D.C. During his time in the role, which concluded in 2012, he helped the company as it navigated scrutiny by the Department of Justice (DOJ).[2] Davidson testified before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law on Google's behalf in 2010.[5]

Obama Administration

In 2015, he joined the Department of Commerce as the first director of digital economy.[2] According to a report by Politico, Davidson's appointment was motivated by the fact that while "[Department of] Commerce has its fingers in nearly every Internet policy debate taking place today", the department "has lacked a unified voice on those issues."[6]

Advocacy work

In addition to his private sector work, Davidson worked at advocacy organizations including the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and the New America Foundation.[5] At the time of his nomination to lead the NTIA, Davidson was a senior adviser and former vice president at the Mozilla Foundation.[3]

National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)

Nomination

In 2021, Davidson was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as director of the NTIA.[2] At the time of his nomination, the NTIA was led by acting administrator Evelyn Remaley.[3] On January 11, 2022, he was confirmed by the United States Senate in a 60–31 vote.[7]

Tenure

Davidson was sworn into office on January 14, 2022.[1] Under Davidson's leadership, the NTIA will be tasked with allocating the $48 billion in funding for broadband deployment included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.[8] In December 2022, Davidson praised the initial draft of a national broadband map, which was produced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).[9]

In 2023, the NTIA released a report on app store competition that concluded that Google and Apple serve as "gatekeepers" of the app market ecosystem. In a call with journalists, Davidson said that the report concluded that Google and Apple's administration of the Play Store and App Store, respectively, show "real potential harm for consumers" by "inflating prices and reducing innovation".[10]

References

  1. 1 2 "NTIA Announces Additions to Senior Leadership under Assistant Secretary Davidson". National Telecommunications and Information Administration. February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lapowsky, Issie (1 December 2021). "Who is Alan Davidson, NTIA nominee? - Protocol". Protocol. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Eggerton, John (2021-10-26). "Biden Nominates Mozilla, Google Vet Alan Davidson to Head NTIA". Multichannel News. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  4. 1 2 "Alan B. Davidson". New America. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  5. 1 2 King, Rachel (2011-05-10). "Google defends mobile privacy standards at Senate hearing". ZDNET. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  6. ↑ Scola, Nancy (2015-05-27). "Feds hire Google veteran for Internet role". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  7. ↑ Peterson, Andrea (2022-01-12). "Senate confirms NTIA head, but other cybersecurity nominations still on hold". The Record. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  8. ↑ Lima, Cristiano (January 18, 2023). "Analysis | Biden's big broadband ambitions mean historic hurdles for NTIA". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  9. ↑ McGarry, David B. (2022-12-16). "NTIA's Alan Davidson Touts FCC Map, Expresses Worry About Challenge Deadline". Broadband Breakfast. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  10. ↑ Gold, Ashley (2023-02-01). "Biden admin report criticizes Apple, Google app stores". Axios. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
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