The 2020 election is quickly approaching, and we have heard every voice and opinion on all the hot topics, but are you paying attention to the candidates’ views on cybersecurity? How we move forward with respect to cybersecurity and data protection is very important as we move more and more information and access online.
In every presidential election since 2008, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) examines the two major candidates’ positions on a variety of issues. Here we have broken down some of the top IT areas that the candidates’ have addressed.
Cybersecurity
- BIDEN
- Calls for “cybersecurity improvements to make smart grids more resilient to attacks.”
- The 2020 Democratic Platform calls for Biden to “maintain American capabilities that can deter cyber threats” and “work with other countries—and the private sector—to protect individuals’ data and protect critical infrastructure.”
- TRUMP
- Signed executive orders on cybersecurity that have aimed to improve cybersecurity for federal networks, critical infrastructure, and the nation, as well as strengthen the federal cybersecurity workforce.
- Gave U.S. Cyber Command more flexibility in carrying out offensive cyber-strikes
- The Trump administration’s National Cyber Strategy has called for sector-wide improvements in cybersecurity and developing and implementing standards in new and emerging areas.
Internet Governance
- BIDEN
- States that “We will recommit the United States to the principles of an open internet… and vigorously oppose efforts to digitally silo off countries and populations from the rest of the world.”
- TRUMP
- Promotes the “Clean Network” initiative, which includes efforts to:
- Restrict sensitive personal information and confidential business information from being stored in China
- Restrict U.S. companies from making their mobile apps available in Chinese app stores
- Remove Chinese apps from U.S. mobile app stores
- Promotes the “Clean Network” initiative, which includes efforts to:
Data Privacy
- BIDEN
- Says “We should be worried about the lack of privacy [on tech platforms],” and “we should be setting standards not unlike the Europeans are doing relative to privacy.”
- Calls for updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to give digital content the same privacy protections as physical content.
- TRUMP
- Supports national consumer privacy legislation with “the appropriate balance between privacy and prosperity.”
Online Platforms
- BIDEN
- Has said that online platforms should do more to prevent the spread of misinformation and hate speech.
- TRUMP
- States that social media platforms have an anti-conservative bias, and needs to be “strongly regulated, or closed down.”
- Signed executive orders banning TikTok and WeChat, two Chinese-owned apps. (The Treasury Department is currently reviewing TikTok’s proposal.)
Whichever candidate wins the election, they will need to prioritize cybersecurity to defend US government agencies and businesses against relentless hacks. Technological innovation is a key factor in achieving one of America’s most important goals: strengthening national security.