Daily Debrief: Cyber privacy in an Obama USA
[ Music ]
^M00:00:04
>> Charlie: Cyber privacy advocates have welcomed the accession of an Obama administration but they may have to wait a little bit before popping
the Champaign corks. Welcome to the CNET News Daily Debrief, I'm Charlie Cooper. On the line now from New York City CNET News'
Declan McCullagh. Declan, before we get into the incoming administration, for purposes of comparison take a look at the
privacy record, as far as cyber issues go, with the current Bush administration, how much of their approach has been shaped by September 11th?
>> Declan: Almost all of it, I remember covering the Bush administration pre 9/11 and there wasn't much time for a real policy to
be developed but it was essentially continuing what the Clinton administration had done and then things changed radically. Bills that
were proposed early on never became law but glued together became the Patriot Act, we saw the warrantless wiretapping program. In other
words, the events of September 11th pretty much defined the Bush administration's approach to cyber security. We never had the
Department of Homeland Security until after those terrorist attacks.
>> Charlie: Alright, let's talk a little bit about Eric Holder [assumed spelling], who is Obama's choice for the next Attorney General,
he had been or has been a critic of the government's wiretapping program but you've gone over the record and it's a little bit nuanced,
what did you turn up?
>> Declan: It is more nuanced or mixed, if you will, it's easy enough to criticize a republican administration's warrantless wiretapping
if you're a democrat. And so, you can't really tell from that exactly what his views are so we went back and looked and --
>> Charlie: And he was a senior person in the Justice Department in the Clinton --
>> Declan: Correct, Deputy Attorney General. And so, we went back and reviewed dozens and dozens of speeches and statements that he
made and we found out that he seemed to be in favor of things like domestic restrictions on encryption, which is something that other
Clinton officials supported back in the day. He indicated that he wanted more restrictions on free speech and thought that the
Supreme Court could be persuaded to keep those constitutional. He also called for new powers for federal prosecutors, some of which
became laws part of the Patriot Act in 2001.
>> Charlie: So it's hard to predict but let's do the short list of what his record might be and assuming he gets approved by the Senate
free speech and censorship on the Internet?
>> Declan: Well, in terms of free speech and censorship it's -- he wanted an obscenity crack-down, that is he wanted prosecutors, federal prosecutors
to put more pornographers, Internet pornographers in prison; this is something that Ashcroft also wanted. That would probably be consistent
I don't see a radical change from republican to a democratic administration there.
>> Charlie: Encryption?
>> Declan: Encryption is pretty much off the table now it would take something really radical for it to be brought back live as a
policy debate; this is something that the Clinton folks were pushing, never became law on part because of the opposition of republicans
in Congress. I don't think we have to worry about this but if there is another terrorist attack, a serious one, and if we find out it
could have been prevented had the government had the ability to say break encryption then it is back on the table, definitely.
>> Charlie: Intellectual piracy?
>> Declan: Well, IP, copyright, all that kind of good stuff that we know and love from many years of dealing with the RAA and
writing out what they're doing, it's -- the big question for an Obama administration is, who will be the IP czar, we don't know that
yet. Eric Holder when he was part of The Department of Justice was a bit of an IP hock he showed up at events with Adobe saying we
need to crack down on piracy, I don't see any huge change there either. That would probably be pretty consistent we have the Business
Offer Alliance and the Industry of Growth in Commerce both copyright hocks themselves saying we love Eric Holder.
>> Charlie: And the 800 pound gorilla, of course, The Patriot Act.
>> Declan: Now this is where it gets interesting you have a lot of democrats for good reasons criticizing the Patriot Act litigation
and its very existence over the last 7 or 8 years. And Holder's position is interesting because he supported it and he said in 2004
to CNN that he thought this was a perfectly good law, and so his criticisms are more with the implementation not the law itself.
>> Charlie: Good stuff, thanks Declan. On behalf of CNET News, I'm Charlie Cooper.
^E00:05:03
Up Next
What is the Fediverse?
Up Next
What is the Fediverse?
The Missing Piece to Apple's Eco-Friendly Mission
The Missing Piece to Apple's Eco-Friendly Mission
Boston Dynamics Retires Its HD Atlas Robot
Boston Dynamics Retires Its HD Atlas Robot
Apple and Disney's Unique Bond: Why Vision Pro Needs the Mouse
Apple and Disney's Unique Bond: Why Vision Pro Needs the Mouse
The Ocean Cleanup's System 03 Collects Plastic Pollution at Record Levels
The Ocean Cleanup's System 03 Collects Plastic Pollution at Record Levels
Latest iOS 18 Rumor Roundup: New Designs, AI Tricks
Latest iOS 18 Rumor Roundup: New Designs, AI Tricks
Apple to Talk AI in June: This WWDC Is a Big Deal
Apple to Talk AI in June: This WWDC Is a Big Deal
What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like
What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like
Microsoft Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6 Are Here
Microsoft Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6 Are Here
Everything Just Announced at Google's AI Health Event
Everything Just Announced at Google's AI Health Event
Tech Shows
Latest News All latest news
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Apple May Give FineWoven Accessories One More Season
Apple May Give FineWoven Accessories One More Season
US vs. TikTok: What Happens Next
US vs. TikTok: What Happens Next
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
What to Expect at Apple's May 7 iPad Event
What to Expect at Apple's May 7 iPad Event
Did a Week With the Apple Watch Make Me Use My iPhone Less?
Did a Week With the Apple Watch Make Me Use My iPhone Less?
Most Popular All most popular
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Latest Products All latest products
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
Latest How To All how to videos
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro