Where 2016 US Presidential Contenders Stand On Tech Issues
From fighting terror with tech to backing net neutrality to worrying about AI, here's a look at what some of the 2016 US Presidential hopefuls have on their tech agendas.
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Technology has long been a way for presidents to drive the economy and appear modern. John F. Kennedy promising to put a man on the moon was a tech brag -- an assertion of our science and technology might and muscle.
Today, technology is a fascinating lens through which to consider the 2016 presidential hopefuls. Technology is still tied to patriotic bragging rights. But its prevalence in every aspect of our lives -- from our communications systems to our utilities -- makes it even more intrinisic than ever when it comes to concerns such as national security and civil rights. Technology is even meaningfully entwined with immigration policy.
The 2016 Presidential hopefuls have positions on net neutrality that run down party lines. And, nearly every one of them is clear about equating cyber security with national security. Sill, the attention that their campaigns give to high-tech topics is telling.
[See 9 Most Tech-Savvy Presidents.]
For example, Donald Trump, the Republican winner of the New Hampshire primary, makes no mention of technology on his website (at least that we could find), though in interviews he has expressed reservations about artificial intelligence. Bernie Sanders, the Democrat winner of the New Hampshire primary, dedicates considerable real estate to it on his site FeelTheBern.org, addressing the Patriot Act, mass surveillance, and net neutrality.
Ben Carson has created a proposal for establishing an organization that would consolidate tech efforts, in the way that NASA consolidated space efforts. Jim Gilmore sums up his cybersecurity position in two rather thin sentences.
In the following pages, we offer a summary of the technology positions of the candidates who are still in the race, in time for the President's Day holiday and headed into the South Carolina Primary. Take a look, and let us know in the comments section below which candidate has your vote on tech issues.
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Hillary Clinton has asked the business disruptors of Silicon Valley to help the government disrupt the work of ISIS.
"Right now terrorists communicate on very ubiquitous sites: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook. ... We're going to have to have more support from our friends in the technology world to deny online space," Clinton said during a Dec. 6, 2015, speech before the Brookings Institution.
She added that she expects such language will bring complaints about "freedom of speech, et cetera." But if the US is in a war against terrorism, "then we've got to shut off their means of communicating."
The New York Times noted that with her remarks to Silicon Valley, Clinton risks "putting herself at odds with technology executives and entrepreneurs crucial to her campaign's fund-raising."
Twitter revealed Feb. 5 that since the middle of 2015, it has suspended more than 125,000 accounts for "threatening or promoting terrorist acts."
Clinton has also called on the tech community to help decode terrorists' encrypted communications.
Privacy and digital rights are key campaign points for Bernie Sanders. The Vermont senator was a co-sponsor of the Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act of 2014, which called to prohibit Internet service providers from giving preferential treatment to online content applications, services, or devices.
On FeelTheBern.org, Sanders calls net neutrality "a fundamental free speech issue that could give corporations even more control over our access to information."
Sanders has called cyber attacks "the greatest threat to US national security," and believes "clear, tough legislation has yet to be enacted."
Sanders proposes a balance between tough cybersecurity and protecting the rights and data of American citizens. He has tweeted, "I worry very much about kids growing up in a society where they think, 'I'm not going to talk about this issue...because someone may think I'm a terrorist.'" He voted against the Patriot Act and worries we are moving toward an "Orwellian society."
Jeb Bush considers cybersecurity a "critical element of our national defense and economic well-being." His plan to take on the challenge includes a "command focus" on it; making the Federal government lead by example; increasing US intelligence and law enforcement cybersecurity capabilities and strengthening international cooperation; creating private-public partnerships; and removing "barriers to innovation" in the industry, by means such as transforming immigration "into an economically driven system that retains and brings in highly skilled immigrants."
Bush's campaign also believes that "every part of our lives except for education has been transformed by technology and information." Bush supports investing in research and supporting online, blended, and competency-based learning models.
He's also the rare candidate to have made a tech statement in an oil painting. In 2006, his BlackBerry was included in his official gubernatorial portrait.
Ben Carson's "Prescription for Winning the 21st Century Cyber Space Race" is to establish a National Cyber Security Administration (NCSA) to consolidate and unify government initiatives and offices.
An NCSA would advance educational initiatives; identify security best practices; research vulnerabilities; certify security products; seek out active botnets; ensure all agencies have preparedness and operations plans in place; coordinate research and development with identified "centers of excellence"; incentivize and streamline cooperation between private industry and law enforcement; increase the reliability and use of authentication tools; and be a central resource for digital privacy and civil liberties issues.
Unlike other leading candidates, Ted Cruz doesn't break out technology, or cybersecurity, as a specifically addressed issue. However, his site does state that "Internet freedom has produced robust free speech for millions." However, Cruz is not in favor of net neutrality, calling it "Obamacare for the Internet." He believes that the FCC is trying to regulate the Internet and turn it into a public utility.
On his official site, John Kasich, the current governor of Ohio, devotes two sentences to his position on cybersecurity: "We must defend against cyber attacks on our government and businesses, as well as counter the online activities of jihadis and other opponents. We must work with our allies to identify sources of attack and develop a coordinated response to anyone that attacks the resources of our government and the private sector."
In a guest column on CNN.com in August, Kasich wrote that in his 18 years as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, he never met a president who understood the link between a strong economy and strong national security "better than Ronald Reagan."
Marco Rubio says that as president, he'll repeal net neutrality, which he believes will hamper innovation and raise costs for Internet users.
He'll also continue to fight proposals from foreign governments "to gut current multi-stakeholder governance of the Internet"; encourage information sharing between government and the private sector; "harshly" respond to cyberattacks on Americans, businesses and government; reallocate government-owned wireless spectrum for commercial use; make the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) permanent; and oppose the Marketplace Fairness Act, which he believes will "crush" small businesses and kill jobs.
Donald Trump, like his fellow Republican candidates, is against net neutrality.
While his official site doesn't address his positions on technology, he told Breitbart in an October interview that he believes the NSA should be given as much leeway as possible, without violating the Fourth Amendment; that cybersecurity is a constant battle in which the United States has done "a fairly good job"; and that artificial intelligence creators should consider the ethical and moral consequences of their activities.
"I have always been concerned about the social breakdown of our culture caused by technology," Trump noted, adding that he's confident that "we will find a balance."
Donald Trump, like his fellow Republican candidates, is against net neutrality.
While his official site doesn't address his positions on technology, he told Breitbart in an October interview that he believes the NSA should be given as much leeway as possible, without violating the Fourth Amendment; that cybersecurity is a constant battle in which the United States has done "a fairly good job"; and that artificial intelligence creators should consider the ethical and moral consequences of their activities.
"I have always been concerned about the social breakdown of our culture caused by technology," Trump noted, adding that he's confident that "we will find a balance."
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