eventMarch 26 2015

if.then.fund

Joshua Tauberer

Databite No. 30

Joshua Tauberer (founder of GovTrack.us) speaks about if.then.fund, a new project he co-founded to bring citizens into the politics of campaign finance:

“if.then.fund seeks to shift the balance of power in politics. if.then.fund brings citizens to where Congress’s political games are really being played out: not on the Hill, not in the voting booth, but in the financing of campaigns. At if.then.fund, users pledge a contribution that is split and distributed according to the outcome they support in an upcoming vote in Congress. If a representative or senator agrees with a user’s position on the issue, they get a portion of that user’s contribution. If they disagree, that portion goes to their next general election opponent. The site has been carefully designed to be compliant with federal corruption law and campaign finance regulations, which has implications for who can know what and when. if.then.fund was recently featured in The Fix at the Washington Post.”

About Databites

Data & Society’s “Databites” speaker series presents timely conversations about the purpose and power of technology, bridging our interdisciplinary research with broader public conversations about the societal implications of data and automation.