Technology Policy

ORF America is focused on examining the implications of emerging technologies on a variety of policy challenges. Ongoing efforts involve the evolution of cybersecurity norms and capacity in the developing world, as well as strengthening cooperation between the United States and its partners on emerging technologies such as 5G telecommunications and semiconductors.

Experts:

 
What's on our minds
Five Ways to Achieve U.S. Leadership in Critical Minerals
Five Ways to Achieve U.S. Leadership in Critical Minerals

By Jeffrey D. Bean

The United States must sustain its own domestic and international policy effort to ensure critical mineral supply, which will be vital for its defense, energy, and technological future.

With the Doubling of Space Satellites, Light Pollution Is a Problem
With the Doubling of Space Satellites, Light Pollution Is a Problem

By Katherine Salinas

Implementing effective regulations and guidelines that consider the impact on astronomical observation and preserving the natural night sky is essential.

TikTok Debate Exposes a Knowledge Gap among U.S. Leaders
TikTok Debate Exposes a Knowledge Gap among U.S. Leaders

By Katherine Salinas

While banning TikTok might seem like an easy answer, it highlights a broader problem — the gap between data protection regulations, knowledge gaps among legislators, and the larger digital divide in American public policy.

Building Cyber Capacity Assumes Greater Importance
Building Cyber Capacity Assumes Greater Importance

By Anneleen Roggeman

How are international institutions prioritizing cyber capacity and its potential contributions to global development and multilateral partnerships?

De-Risking Semiconductor Supply Chains Comes with Different Risks
De-Risking Semiconductor Supply Chains Comes with Different Risks

By Andreas Kuehn and Jeffrey D. Bean

What costs and risks need to be taken into account when geopolitics are causing shifts in global supply chains for semiconductors?

All CHIPS, No Science: Why Congress Must Act Now
All CHIPS, No Science: Why Congress Must Act Now

By Jeffrey D. Bean

While the CHIPS & Science Act of 2022 has boosted the United States' leadership in semiconductor technology, it has considerably lagged in doing so for STEM research. The reason? A lack of appropriated money, meaning the money is there but it has not been allocated yet.

The Latticework: Updated U.S. Partnerships for an Era of Technology
The Latticework: Updated U.S. Partnerships for an Era of Technology

By Andreas Kuehn

With the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election taking place in less than 2 months, a recap of the Biden administration's efforts to achieve a "latticework" of international partnerships with like-minded allies is necessary as we look to the future of trade and technology cooperation.

For Semiconductors, Smaller is Not Always Better
For Semiconductors, Smaller is Not Always Better

By Andreas Schumacher

The invention of the semiconductor chip has led to its integration in modern societies, economies, militaries, and consumer goods, and they are getting smaller by the day. However, does this diversity in chips constitute the need for a different perspective on policies?

The Case for a Quad Technology Trade Agreement
The Case for a Quad Technology Trade Agreement

By Satvik Pendyala

The revival of the Quad has yet to see success in international trade or more specifically rebalancing global supply chains. Could a Quad Technology Trade Agreement be the solution to the Quad's predicament while also increasing multilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific?

UN Adopts First Draft Convention Against Cybercrime
UN Adopts First Draft Convention Against Cybercrime

By Anneleen Roggeman

Earlier this month, member states of the UN Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime agreed to adopt the first global convention against cybercrime after three years of negotiations. The convention will be presented to the UN General Assembly in September, ratifying its legitimacy in 40 countries.

Recent Events:

Recent events
U.S.-India AI Fellows at the 2025 Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi
Mar 18
U.S.-India AI Fellows at the 2025 Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi
Diversifying and Strengthening Critical Minerals Supply Chains
Feb 27
Diversifying and Strengthening Critical Minerals Supply Chains
The U.S.-India Partnership under Trump 2.0
Feb 10
The U.S.-India Partnership under Trump 2.0
Publications
Navigating the Entanglements in the U.S.-China Quantum Technology Race
Navigating the Entanglements in the U.S.-China Quantum Technology Race

By Linda Nhon and Andreas Kuehn

Trump 2.0’s overall policy directions in critical and emerging technologies will likely hew to common expectations. The details, however, of what technologies the new administration will prioritise and how actions, such as tariffs and export controls for example, will affect the United States’ (US) innovation and technology leadership remains underexplored.

Building Resilient Supply Chains: The Case of Semiconductors
Building Resilient Supply Chains: The Case of Semiconductors

Background Paper No. 26

By Jeffrey D. Bean and Andreas Kuehn

Cyber Stakeholders: ORF America's Contributions to Multilateralism at the UN Open-Ended Working Group
Cyber Stakeholders: ORF America's Contributions to Multilateralism at the UN Open-Ended Working Group

Contribution from the Cyberspace Cooperation Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation America in the context of the seventh substantive session of the Open-ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies 2021-2025 (March 2024).

Policy Priorities for Sustaining U.S. Semiconductor Leadership
Policy Priorities for Sustaining U.S. Semiconductor Leadership

By Jeffrey D. Bean and Stephen Ezell

The United States has taken several key steps that we advocated. Foremost was passing the CHIPS and Science Act with bipartisan Congressional support in August 2022, which included appropriations of $52.7 billion for the CHIPS Act.

Whodunit in Cyberspace: The Rocky Road from Attribution to Accountability
Whodunit in Cyberspace: The Rocky Road from Attribution to Accountability

Background Paper No. 18

By Dr. Andreas Kuehn, Debra Decker, and Kathryn Rauhut

Cutting-Edge Technologies in Developing Economies: The Case of India’s Semiconductor Industry

By Andreas Kuehn and Trisha Ray

To examine the policies and their challenges, this chapter draws from in-depth, expert interviews with current and former government officials, trade associations, industry decision-makers, and technology experts, as well as a systematic document analysis of publicly available government and corporate documents.

Tackling Software Supply Chain Security: A Toolbox for Policymakers
Tackling Software Supply Chain Security: A Toolbox for Policymakers

By Andreas Kuehn & Alexandra Paulus

Governments and industry have become increasingly aware of the security risk that software supply chains can cause if not managed properly.

Cyber Stability in the Developing World
Cyber Stability in the Developing World

Increased malicious cyber activities by criminals and state actors undermine the technical security of digital systems and threaten the industrial, social, and economic systems that rely on them.

Special Report

By Abagail Lawson

Defending Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Opportunities for Singapore-United States Cooperation
Defending Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Opportunities for Singapore-United States Cooperation

By Andreas Kuehn

Supply chain breakdowns and disruptions through cyber or other means can have
significant regional and global effects.

Security by Labeling: Protecting and empowering the digital consumer
Security by Labeling: Protecting and empowering the digital consumer

By Andreas Kuehn

The industry has for long been criticized for not paying sufficient attention to the cybersecurity of its products.

Mundane But Meaningful: Understanding The Consequential Ways Digital Technology Is changing Basic Wartime Tasks
Mundane But Meaningful: Understanding The Consequential Ways Digital Technology Is changing Basic Wartime Tasks

By Mchael Depp

The digitalization of national intelligence systems has made it possible for NATO to more effectively support Ukraine’s efforts with intelligence sharing.

In Cybserspace, Actions—Not Words—Define Norms
In Cybserspace, Actions—Not Words—Define Norms

Background Paper No. 10

By Michael Depp

Materials That Matter
Materials That Matter

By Andreas Kuehn

The global surge in demand for critical materials has given rise to new geopolitics.

The EU and Responsible Active Cyber Defence
The EU and Responsible Active Cyber Defence

By Andreas Kuehn & Sven Herpig

The EU must define what it understands as active cyber defence and how it relates to other cyber policy issues.

Digital democracies and virtual frontiers: How do we safeguard democracy in the 4IR?
Digital democracies and virtual frontiers: How do we safeguard democracy in the 4IR?

By Samir Saran

Digital Frontiers

Squeezing the Cybersecurity Lemons – A Labeling Regime for IoT Products
Squeezing the Cybersecurity Lemons – A Labeling Regime for IoT Products

by Andreas Kuehn and Vaibhav Garg

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Squeezing the Cybersecurity Lemons – A Labeling Regime for IoT Products
Squeezing the Cybersecurity Lemons – A Labeling Regime for IoT Products

By Dr. Andreas Kuehn & Vaibhav Garg

A centralized, prescriptive approach may struggle with scalability, device diversity, and deployment complexity.

Secure ICT is impossible without trustworthy suppliers
Secure ICT is impossible without trustworthy suppliers

Originally published in Digital Frontiers, Observer Research Foundation

By Dr. Andreas Kuehn and Jan-Peter Kleinhans

Closing the gap: Promises of digital progress
Closing the gap: Promises of digital progress

Originally published by Observer Research Foundation

By Dr. Andreas Kuehn

The road to an evenly distributed TechFuture should put the needs of the Global South front and centre
The road to an evenly distributed TechFuture should put the needs of the Global South front and centre

Originally published in Digital Frontiers, Observer Research Foundation

By Dr. Andreas Kuehn

Can competition tools fix social media?
Can competition tools fix social media?

First published in Digital Frontiers, Observer Research Foundation.

By Abagail Lawson

This Connection is Secure: A 5G Risk and Resilience Framework for the Quad
This Connection is Secure: A 5G Risk and Resilience Framework for the Quad

By Andreas Kuehn & Trisha Ray

Australian National University

The Future of Cybersecurity Lies In Silicon
The Future of Cybersecurity Lies In Silicon

Originally published in Arm Security Manifesto

By Dr. Andreas Kuehn

The Quad, the Media, and Big Tech Platforms
The Quad, the Media, and Big Tech Platforms

Background Paper No. 5

By Nikhila Natarajan

Securing Africa’s Cyber Ecosystem Through International Cooperation
Securing Africa’s Cyber Ecosystem Through International Cooperation

By Bruce McConnell

The Promise and Perils of AI Partnerships
The Promise and Perils of AI Partnerships

Originally published in The Hindustan Times.

By Dhruva Jaishankar

Understanding the UN Cyber Norms Processes as Conflict Management Tools
Understanding the UN Cyber Norms Processes as Conflict Management Tools

By Abagail Lawson

The CyFy Journal 2021

Preserving fundamental rights while moderating online content
Preserving fundamental rights while moderating online content

Originally published as part of the series Raisina Edit 2021.

By Abagail Lawson

Indo-Pacific 5G survey: Connections and conflict
Indo-Pacific 5G survey: Connections and conflict

Originally published in Observer Research Foundation.

By Nikhila Natarajan, Trisha Ray and Michael Depp.

Defending Forward: U.S. Cyber Strategy and Its Implications for Cybersecurity in Asia
Defending Forward: U.S. Cyber Strategy and Its Implications for Cybersecurity in Asia

Event summary of an ORF America-RSIS cyber strategy seminar.

By Dr. Andreas Kuehn

Featured
U.S.-India AI Fellows at the 2025 Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi
Mar 18
U.S.-India AI Fellows at the 2025 Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi
Diversifying and Strengthening Critical Minerals Supply Chains
Feb 27
Diversifying and Strengthening Critical Minerals Supply Chains
The U.S.-India Partnership under Trump 2.0
Feb 10
The U.S.-India Partnership under Trump 2.0
U.S.-India AI Fellows at Raisina Middle East
Jan 28
U.S.-India AI Fellows at Raisina Middle East
Global Diaspora Forum: The India-Armenia Edition
Dec 10
Global Diaspora Forum: The India-Armenia Edition
Global Cyber Policy Dialogues: Western Balkans
Nov 20
Global Cyber Policy Dialogues: Western Balkans
Chips for Breakfast: Advanced Compute and AI
Oct 16
Chips for Breakfast: Advanced Compute and AI
Young Professionals Event: A Discussion on Digital Threats
Jul 17
Young Professionals Event: A Discussion on Digital Threats
2nd Technology Alliances and International Cooperation Workshop
May 8
2nd Technology Alliances and International Cooperation Workshop
ORF America hosts New Tech Alliances Roundtable at AI Expo
May 7
ORF America hosts New Tech Alliances Roundtable at AI Expo
Raisina Roundtable @ Tokyo
Mar 6
Raisina Roundtable @ Tokyo
Advancing the U.S.-India Strategic Convergence on Technology
Feb 6
Advancing the U.S.-India Strategic Convergence on Technology
Chips for Breakfast: Addressing the Semiconductor Talent Shortage
Nov 8
Chips for Breakfast: Addressing the Semiconductor Talent Shortage
Global Cyber Policy Dialogue: Western Balkans
Sep 20
Global Cyber Policy Dialogue: Western Balkans
Chips for Breakfast: Vulnerabilities, Dependencies, and Choke Points in Semiconductor Supply Chains
Sep 14
Chips for Breakfast: Vulnerabilities, Dependencies, and Choke Points in Semiconductor Supply Chains
Global Cyber Policy Dialogue: Southeast Asia
Jul 3
Global Cyber Policy Dialogue: Southeast Asia
Chips for Breakfast II
Jun 13
Chips for Breakfast II
Technology Alliances and Emerging Technologies Workshop
Jun 6
Technology Alliances and Emerging Technologies Workshop
Supply Chains: Rethinking Structural Changes
Feb 24
Supply Chains: Rethinking Structural Changes

Observer Research Foundation America, 1100 17th St. NW, Suite 501, Washington DC 20036 USA