Topics in the News: Privacy
Kamala Harris on Technology
: Mar 28, 2024
Address risks from use of AI & monitor impact on public
Today, Vice President Kamala Harris announced the first government-wide policy to mitigate risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and harness its benefits. President Biden's landmark AI Executive Order directed sweeping action to strengthen AI safety and
security, protect Americans' privacy, advance equity and civil rights, stand up for consumers and workers, promote innovation and competition, advance American leadership around the world, and more:- Address Risks from the Use of AI:
Monitor AI's impacts on the public, and mitigate the risks of algorithmic discrimination
- Expand Transparency of AI Use: Release government-owned AI code, models, and data, where such releases do not pose a
risk to the public or government operations.
- Grow the AI Workforce: Hire 100 AI professionals to promote the trustworthy and safe use of AI as part of the National AI Talent Surge.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: White House Vice Presidential 2024 press release: "OMB"
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tax Reform
: Jul 18, 2023
Exempt conversion of bitcoin from capital gains taxes
Kennedy announced his administration "will exempt the conversion of bitcoin to the U.S. dollar from capital gains taxes.""The benefits include facilitating innovation and spurring investment, ensuring citizen privacy, incentivizing ventures
to grow their business and tech jobs in the United States," he added. "Non-taxable events are unreportable and that means it will be more difficult for governments to weaponize currency against free speech, which is one of my principal objectives."
Click for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on other issues.
Source: TheStreet.com on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Mike Pence on Technology
: Jun 7, 2023
TikTok should be banned from this country, period
Look, a lot of young people like it, but what you got to understand, kids, look, they're collecting your personal information and everything TikTok gets, the Chinese communist government has access to. I think TikTok is incompatible with both the
privacy and the security of the United States of America. And it shouldn't just be banned from our government institutions. It should be banned from this country, period. Full stop.
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall: interviews of 2024 presidential candidates
Joe Biden on Technology
: Apr 1, 2023
Set up Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework
In 2022, the Biden Administration negotiated a new agreement, the Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework, intended to withstand European legal challenges. [President Biden's] Executive Order 14086, "Enhancing Safeguards for U.S. Signals Intelligence
Activities," implements this new framework by attempting to align signals intelligence collection practices with European privacy regulations. At most, the executive order's changes will be helpful support for the framework in future
European litigation; at worst, they could throw sand in the gears of important intelligence programs.[The European Union] has always arbitraged the difference between being a military ally against, for example, Russia and conducting a full-blown
trade conflict with the U.S. Restrictions on data exports have been part of the trade conflict, but now they could seriously harm our military and intelligence capabilities.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Project 2025, by the Heritage Foundation, p.225-6
Joe Biden on Abortion
: Feb 7, 2023
If Congress passes a national abortion ban, I will veto it
Congress must restore the right the Supreme Court took away last year and codify Roe v. Wade to protect every woman's constitutional right to choose. The Vice President and I are doing everything we can to protect access to reproductive
health care and safeguard patient privacy. But already, more than a dozen states are enforcing extreme abortion bans. Make no mistake; if Congress passes a national abortion ban, I will veto it.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2023 State of the Union speech as prepared for delivery
Joe Biden on Technology
: Mar 1, 2022
Stop tech companies collecting personal data on our children
We must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they're conducting on our children for profit.
It's time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2022 State of the Union address
Ron DeSantis on Technology
: Jan 11, 2022
Enact protections for the data privacy of all Floridians
Big Tech companies have used their platforms to elevate preferred narratives and to stifle dissent, serving as a de facto council of censors. Florida was the first state to legislate protections for its citizens and we should build on this success.
These same companies make a fortune by selling user data. Floridians should not have their data utilized by Big Tech without providing affirmative consent and I urge the Legislature to enact protections for the data privacy of all Floridians.
Click for Ron DeSantis on other issues.
Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Idaho legislature
Ron DeSantis on Technology
: Feb 26, 2021
Hold big tech accountable for political censorship
Florida is also leading in protecting our people from political censorship and holding big tech accountable. When our legislature convenes next month it will pass and I will sign the most ambitious reform yet proposed for combating
political censorship and preventing big tech from interfering in our elections and for safeguarding the privacy of your personal data. in Florida we are not going to let the terms of the debate in our country be set by Silicon Valley.
Click for Ron DeSantis on other issues.
Source: Remarks by Senator DeSantis at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Joe Biden on Government Reform
: Oct 15, 2019
Don't pack the Supreme Court
Q: What about adding new Supreme Court seats to create a liberal majority and protect things like abortion rights?BIDEN: Reproductive rights are a constitutional right. In fact every woman should have that right. I would not pack the Court.
What I would do is make sure that the people that I recommended for the Court, from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Elena Kagan support the right of privacy on which the entire notion of a woman's right to choose is based.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate
Howie Hawkins on Technology
: May 19, 2019
Public broadband; public ownership of online platforms
Establish a public broadband service as a not-for-profit public utility in order to provide universal access to a high-speed phone, TV, and internet service at lower costs and with net neutrality.Online platforms like Amazon, Facebook, Google, and
Uber tend toward monopoly because people gravitate to the platforms that have the most users and information. These monopolies are abusing data collection and privacy, censoring content, and eliminating competitors through predatory pricing and buyouts.
The remedy is a combination of antitrust action to divest tech conglomerates of multiple platforms and the
conversion of some platforms to public utilities that serve the public interest.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential Campaign website HowieHawkins.us
Kamala Harris on Corporations
: May 12, 2019
Facebook is like a utility; needs to be regulated
Q: Your opinion on Facebook and social media? A: I think that Facebook has experienced massive growth and has prioritized its growth over the best interests of its consumers, especially on the issue of privacy.
There is no question that there needs to be serious regulation, and that that has not been happening. There needs to be more oversight.
Q: Do you think they should be broken up?
A: Yes, I think we have to seriously take a look at that. They're essentially a utility. There are very few people that can actually get by without somehow, somewhere using Facebook.
We have to recognize it for what it is. It is essentially a utility that has gone unregulated. As far as I'm concerned, that's got to stop.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: CNN SOTU 2019 interview of presidential hopefuls
Kamala Harris on Abortion
: Jan 21, 2019
Don't limit abortions to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy
A supporter of abortion rights, Harris voted against a bill that would limit abortions to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. As California state attorney general, she launched an investigation of anti-abortion activist
David Daleiden, whose undercover videos later sparked charges of breaking privacy laws. His supporters said Harris' relationship with Planned Parenthood was a conflict of interest.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Joe Biden on Homeland Security
: Aug 2, 2018
1991: Favors government "back doors" into encryption
In 1991, Biden introduced two bills aimed at curbing terrorism and crime respectively, both of which featured language mandating that tech companies create "back doors" in their products for law enforcement to snoop through. Biden tried to water
down encryption again three years later with a successful bill that expanded federal wiretap powers, but privacy advocates managed to remove this and other provisions from the bill before it passed.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Jacobin Magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Tim Walz on Technology
: May 2, 2017
Safeguard our online activity from public scrutiny
As technology evolves we must continue to safeguard our online activity from public scrutiny and private exploitation. As a proponent of civil rights, I understand the strong argument made for stronger privacy laws.We must also remain vigilant to
protect our nation from terrorists and those who wish to do us harm. Cyber security is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation.
An effective response to cyber-attacks will require coordination among intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and private owners of critical cyber infrastructure.
However, it is also imperative that we not sacrifice citizens' privacy and civil liberties. I will continue to fight for measures that allow us to find the proper balance between national security and personal privacy.
Click for Tim Walz on other issues.
Source: 2018 MN gubernatorial campaign website walz.house.gov
Donald Trump on Technology
: Apr 3, 2017
Repeal internet privacy rules: let companies sell ad info
President Trump signed a bill repealing internet privacy rules passed last year that would have given internet users greater control over what service providers can do with their data. The FCC regulations would have required broadband companies to get
permission from their customers in order to use their "sensitive" data--including browsing history, geolocation and financial and medical information--to create targeted advertisements.The bill uses a little-known tool called the
Congressional Review Act (CRA) that allows the president to overturn recently passed agency regulations. Before Trump took office, the CRA had only been successfully passed once, under Pres. Bush in 2001. Trump has signed 10 bills overturning
Obama-era regulations, including the internet privacy rule.
The bill caused an uproar when it passed the House and Senate last month, with critics accusing Republicans of selling their constituents' privacy.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: The Hill analysis of 2016-17 Trump Administration
Donald Trump on Technology
: Oct 9, 2016
Proportional response to eliminate cyberattacks
Q: What steps will you take to protect vulnerable infrastructure and institutions from cyber attack, while protecting personal privacy on electronic devices and the internet?TRUMP: The United States government should not spy on its own citizens.
That will not happen in a Trump administration. As for protecting the Internet, any attack on the Internet should be considered a provocative act that requires the utmost in protection and, at a minimum, a proportional response that identifies and
then eliminates threats to our Internet infrastructure.
CLINTON: I will make it clear that the United States will treat cyberattacks just like any other attack. We will be ready with serious political, economic and military responses and we will
invest in protecting our governmental networks and national infrastructure.
JILL STEIN: Negotiate international treaty banning cyberwarfare; create a new UN agency tasked with identifying the sources of cyber attacks.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: ScienceDebate.org: 20 questions for 2016 presidential race
Jill Stein on Technology
: Oct 9, 2016
Negotiate an international treaty banning cyberwarfare
Q: What steps will you take to protect vulnerable infrastructure and institutions from cyber attack, while protecting personal privacy on electronic devices and the internet?JILL STEIN: The Internet and the access to information it provides
is an extremely important resource for the entire world. Here is how we will protect and improve the Internet:
- Protect the free Internet. Oppose the Online Piracy Act and all other legislation that would undermine freedom and equality on the
Internet.
- Vigorously defend net neutrality.
- Support public broadband Internet.
- Negotiate international treaty banning cyberwarfare; create a new UN agency tasked with identifying the sources of cyber attacks.
CLINTON: I will make it
clear that the United States will treat cyberattacks just like any other attack. We will be ready with serious political, economic and military responses and we will invest in protecting our governmental networks and national infrastructure.
Click for Jill Stein on other issues.
Source: ScienceDebate.org: 20 questions for 2016 presidential race
Jill Stein on Welfare & Poverty
: Jan 12, 2016
Millions thrown off food stamps because they can't find work
Republicans have long been recognized as unabashed servants of the economic elite. But they have not been alone. Democratic priorities [include] job-killing corporate trade agreements, austerity budgets, health care reform that locked single payer out
and private profits in, privatization of schools, expanding wars for oil and regime change, and unprecedented assaults on privacy and press freedoms.As a result of this bipartisan assault, we have not had a recovery by any measure. One in two
Americans remain in or near poverty including half of children in public schools. One in three seniors relies on Social Security to stay afloat. Wages are stagnant or declining, and real unemployment is nearly 10%, twice as high as the official rate.
Forty-three million current and former students are locked in debt. Thirty-three million Americans are still uninsured, and up to a million more Americans will be thrown off food stamps (SNAP) this year, unbelievably, because they can't find work.
Click for Jill Stein on other issues.
Source: Green Party response to 2016 State of the Union speech
Bernie Sanders on Homeland Security
: Oct 13, 2015
PATRIOT Act was 99-1, and I was the one
Q: You and Hillary Clinton both voted for the Patriot Act which created the NSA surveillance program. You've emphasized civil liberties, privacy during your campaign. Aren't these two things in conflict?CHAFEE: No, that was a 99-to-1 vote for the
PATRIOT Act, and it was seen as modernizing our ability to tap phones which always required a warrant.
Q: Do you regret that vote?
CHAFEE: As long as you're getting a warrant, I believe that under the Fourth Amendment, you should be able to do
surveillance. And in the Patriot Act, section 215 started to get broadened too far. So I would be in favor of addressing and reforming section 215 of the Patriot Act.
Q: Secretary Clinton?
CLINTON: No, I don't. I think that
it was necessary to make sure that we were able after 9/11 to put in place the security that we needed.
SANDERS: It was 99 to one and I was maybe the one. [Note: See related FactCheck--he was not the one!]
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas
Chris Christie on Homeland Security
: Aug 6, 2015
Balance privacy rights but more NSA tools to fight terrorism
Q: You've said that Senator Paul's opposition to the NSA's bulk collection of phone records has made the US weaker and more vulnerable. Do you really believe you can assign blame to Senator Paul?CHRISTIE: Yes, I do. And I'll tell you why: because
I'm the only person on this stage who's actually filed applications under the Patriot Act, who has gone before the Foreign Intelligence Service court. This is not theoretical to me.
When you actually have to be responsible for doing this, you can do it, and we did it, for seven years in my office, respecting civil liberties and protecting the homeland. And I will make no apologies, ever, for protecting the lives and the safety of
the American people. We have to give more tools to our folks to be able to do that, not fewer, and then trust those people and oversee them to do it the right way. As president, that is exactly what I'll do.
Click for Chris Christie on other issues.
Source: Fox News/Facebook Top Ten First Tier debate transcript
Bernie Sanders on Homeland Security
: May 31, 2015
Worried about invasion of privacy from NSA corporate America
Q: Do you support the USA Freedom Act, limiting the PATRIOT Act?SANDERS: I may well be voting for it. It doesn't go as far as I would like it to go. I voted against the original Patriot Act, and I voted against its reauthorization. Look, we have got
to be vigorous in fighting terrorism and protecting the American people. But we have to do it in a way that protects the constitutional rights of the American people. And I'm very, very worried about the invasion of privacy rights that we're seeing not
only from the NSA and the government but from corporate America, as well. We're losing our privacy rights. It's a huge issue.
Q: The government is going to be asking corporate America to keep this data under the USA Freedom Act. You're comfortable
with that?
SANDERS: No, I'm not. But we have to look at the best of bad situations. The question is whether the NSA keeps it, the question is whether it is transferred to the phone companies, who already keep records for an extended period of time.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Tim Scott on Homeland Security
: May 30, 2015
Require stronger evidence for FISA electronic surveillance
The USA FREEDOM Act (HR 2048), sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), would establish new evidence requirements for the FBI to present to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court when seeking approval of electronic surveillance of suspected
terrorists, and make a variety of changes to FBI electronic surveillance programs and the oversight of those programs.A supporter of calling a vote, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), said it accommodated privacy concerns by restricting the set of records
related to terrorism investigations that the government can request from telecommunications companies, while still giving the government the powers it needed to stop terrorism.
A bill opponent, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said the bill failed to
require companies to maintain telecommunications records for long enough to make investigations effective. The vote was 57 yeas to 42 nays, with 3/5 majority required to call a vote.
YEAS: Scott R-SC
NAYS: Graham R-SC
Click for Tim Scott on other issues.
Source: Greenville News coverage of 2016 South Carolina Senate race
Kamala Harris on Civil Rights
: Apr 1, 2015
Ensure marriage equality for all Californians
She has fought to reduce elementary school truancy in California, preserve the state's natural resources, and ensure marriage equality for all Californians.
She has also worked with the technology industry to improve online privacy and safety.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: 2016 Senate campaign website, KamalaHarris.org
Kamala Harris on Technology
: Jul 2, 2013
Warns mobile app companies to protect privacy or face fines
Harris has started to warn scores of companies that their mobile applications or "apps" violate California privacy law and could face fines of up to $2,500 each time one is downloaded. Harris announced an agreement with the apps platforms that
allows consumers the opportunity to review an app's privacy policy before they download the app rather than after, and offers consumers a consistent location for an app's privacy policy on the application-download screen in the platform store.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: Consumer Watchdog blog on 2019 Democratic Primary
Jill Stein on Homeland Security
: Oct 4, 2012
Bush & Obama criminalized the right to protest
ANDERSON: More and more, United States citizens are worried about being safe from our government. Our Government is spying on us. The Patriot Act needs to be repealed.STEIN: Yes, we certainly do need to hold government accountable.
The attack on our civil liberties has been devastating. Under the Obama White House, which basically codified the violations of George Bush, the attacks on our privacy rights, on First Amendment rights, the criminalization of the right to protest, the
National Defense Authorization Act in which the President has claimed the right to incarcerate us, basically, without charge or trial, and to do that at his pleasure without having to justify that in any way. So, yes, there are very serious problems.
Things are not working under Democrats, under Republicans alike. We need a government that is of, by, and for the people, not sponsored and working for big money.
Click for Jill Stein on other issues.
Source: Democracy Now! Expanded First Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Kamala Harris on Technology
: Jul 23, 2012
Unit to prevent misuse of technology to invade privacy
On privacy: "The Privacy Unit will police the privacy practices of individuals and organizations to hold accountable those who misuse technology to invade the privacy of others," according to Harris. The Department's press release explained, "The
Privacy Unit's mission to enforce and protect privacy is broad. It will enforce laws regulating the collection, retention, disclosure, and destruction of private or sensitive information by individuals, organizations, and the government.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: Marketing Research blog on 2019 Democratic Primary
Nikki Haley on Immigration
: Apr 3, 2012
Audit businesses to see if using E-Verify
We already had a strong anti-illegal immigration bill when I became governor. All I wanted to do was enforce it. Our law required businesses to prove they weren't hiring illegal aliens by using, among other methods, a federal database called E-Verify.
The problem is, for E-Verify to work government has to know whether employers are actually using it. Obama's Department of Homeland Security told us we could no longer audit businesses to check if they were using E-Verify. The privacy of the people
being checked, they said, would be compromised if we asked for proof from businesses. Out of the more than 6,000 businesses they had checked, over 2,000 violations had been found. But no more. Now the federal government was saying that we couldn't use
the best and most efficient means we had to enforce our law.
My goal wasn't to overburden employers with rules and regulations. I just wanted to use the easiest and least costly way, to ensure we weren't employing illegals, and that was E-Verify.
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.
Source: Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley, p.211-212
Joe Biden on Abortion
: Oct 1, 2008
Constitution does offer an inherent right to privacy
Q: Do you think there's an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution? A: I think the liberty clause of the 14th Amendment offers a right to privacy. Now that's one of the big debates that I have with my conservative scholar friends, that they say,
you know, unless a right is enumerated--unless it's actually uses the word "privacy" in the Constitution--then no such "constitutional right" exists. Well, I think people have an inherent right.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2008 CBS News presidential interview with Katie Couric
Joe Biden on Abortion
: Apr 26, 2007
Nominees should agree on constitutional right to privacy
Q: As president would you have a specific litmus test question on Roe v. Wade that you would ask of your nominees for the high court? A: I strongly support Roe v. Wade. I wouldn't have a specific question but I would make sure that the people
I sent to be nominated for the Supreme Court shared my values; and understood that there is a right to privacy in the United States Constitution. That's why I led the fight to defeat Bork, Roberts Alito, and Thomas.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC
Page last updated: Nov 02, 2024
Error processing SSI file