Welcome to Protocol

Technology is no longer just an industry; it's a global power center with the sweep and impact of any nation's capital.

At Protocol, we plan to cover it like one.

We'll focus on the people, power and politics of tech, with no agenda and just one goal: to arm decision-makers in tech, business and public policy with the unbiased, fact-based news and analysis they need to navigate a world in rapid change.

Why now? Because we're at a pivotal moment in tech.

The naive optimism of tech's early days is gone, replaced by a backlash that, at its extremes, can be equally naive. Tech can't be wished out of existence, nor can we expect to enjoy all of its benefits without paying some of its costs. But neither can tech industry leaders expect to get by with a hopeful promise that they won't be evil.

This is the reality of tech in 2020. And at Protocol, we're nothing if not realists.

We recognize that tech is here to stay, deeply enmeshed in every aspect of business, government, communities and our personal lives.

We recognize that balancing the incredible promise of technology with its potential harms is a gargantuan task and one with inevitable missteps — both unintentional and otherwise.

We recognize that the story is seldom as simple as good versus evil.

Protocol isn't POLITICO, the news organization our publisher, Robert Allbritton, started in 2007. We're a standalone company, with our own editorial and business teams, our own ethos, our own culture and style. But Protocol does share POLITICO's DNA: to go beyond "the story of the day," to "illuminate the personalities, relationships, clashes, ideas and strategies playing out in the shadows of power," and to produce "journalism that insists on the primacy of facts over ideology."

We're gratified that so many of the best tech journalists in tech today share our vision and have joined our team.

We hope you'll join us on this journey. Check out protocol.com. Sign up for David Pierce's must-read daily newsletter, Source Code. Reach out if you'd like to share your expertise with our readers in our Braintrust feature. And if you ever have questions, concerns or ideas for us, please reach out to me directly.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to Protocol.