Tech Policy Press

Overview

Tech Policy Press is "a nonprofit media and community venture focused on the intersection of technology and democracy." It publishes analysis, news, perspective (opinion) pieces and a podcast that its site describes as weekly along with a newsletter. It also runs a Policy Tracker of laws, regulations, government investigations and litigation affecting technology companies, a fellowship program, and editorial collaborations with other organizations.

History

According to a Feb. 8, 2021 post by Justin Hendrix, he and Bryan Jones launched Protego Press in 2018 as a side project; its volunteer masthead published about 80 posts in 2020. In fall 2020 they decided to relaunch it as Tech Policy Press, and the new site went live at the beginning of January 2021 with a new brand and a narrower editorial focus. The post says the venture was shaped by the Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program at the CUNY Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, and that the team was then building its masthead and board and seeking initial philanthropic support.

The About page says Tech Policy Press is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit "incorporated in Texas as Protego Press, its earlier iteration," and that "Its initial funding came primarily through contributions from its founders." IRS data (via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer) lists the organization as Protego Press, EIN 84-2218365, with tax exemption issued December 2019. Its reported revenue was $393,207 in 2022, $500,345 in 2023 and $1,440,636 in 2024.

In August 2021 it announced a partnership with the Aspen Tech Policy Hub to publish monthly pieces by Hub trainees, beginning in September 2021. Its fellowship program began in 2023, according to its Fellowships page.

Notable works

• Jan. 6, 2023. "Results of the January 6th Committee's Social Media Investigation," by Justin Hendrix — podcast conversation, published with a transcript, with four former investigators and analysts for the House Select Committee on the January 6th attack: Meghan Conroy, Dean Jackson, Alex Newhouse and Jacob Glick.

• Jan. 17, 2023. "Read the January 6 Committee Social Media Report," by Justin Hendrix — published a text-searchable version of the committee investigators' 122-page draft social media report, which the committee had not released. Its post credits The Washington Post with first reporting on the draft and says the draft became available through a link the Post added to its article.

• Sept. 2021 – "New Voices" — partnership with the Aspen Tech Policy Hub to publish original articles by Hub trainees, announced Aug. 16, 2021.

• 2023 –Tech Policy Press Fellowship — per its Fellowships page, 25 fellows in three cohorts (2024, 2025, 2026) from 11 countries, reporting and writing on technology and democracy.

• Ongoing Policy Tracker — a filterable tracker of laws, regulations, government investigations and litigation affecting technology companies. The page does not state a launch date.

• Ongoing Collaborations — its Collaborations page lists past partners including Investigate Europe, Agência Pública, Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística (CLIP), AlgorithmWatch, AI Now Institute, Data & Society, Earth Journalism Network, openDemocracy and the Knight-Georgetown Institute, for "investigations and editorial projects that combine different forms of expertise."

Key personnel

• CEO & Editor; co-founder. Justin Hendrix

• Board Chairman; co-founder. Bryan Jones

• Managing Editor. Solana Larsen

• Deputy Editor. Ramsha Jahangir

• Assistant Editor. Ashley Faler

• Contributing Editors. Dean Jackson, Amber Sinha, Mark Scott

Board of directors. Bryan Jones (Chairman), John Borthwick, Renée DiResta, Desmond Patton, Courtney C. Radsch.

Fellows. James Ball, Varsha Bansal, Liz Carolan, Tatiana Dias, Apar Gupta, Jake Laperruque, Lam Le, Petra Molnar, Vas Panagiotopoulos, Chris Mills Rodrigo, Evie Breese.

Location and contact info

Location. Not stated on the site. IRS data (via ProPublica) lists Austin, Texas; MacArthur Foundation grant records list Dallas, Texas.

Email. newsletter@techpolicy.press; justin@techpolicy.press (both linked on the site)

Legal entity. Protego Press, 501(c)(3), EIN 84-2218365 (incorporated in Texas)

Website. https://www.techpolicy.press/