Kamala Harris hasn’t said a lot about tech policy, but here’s what we know

Vice President Kamala Harris is each but definite to go nan Democratic statesmanlike candidate. She was abruptly catapulted to front-runner position for nan Democratic statesmanlike information aft President Joe Biden ended his reelection run and endorsed her for nan position, and now key powerfulness brokers successful nan statement person publically backed her. If elected, Harris would beryllium a president pinch roots successful California’s Bay Area — the bosom of nan tech industry. 

Despite her ties to this region, Harris is mostly a cipher erstwhile it comes to tech policy. As vice president, she is inherently connected to each argumentation of nan Biden administration, but it’s difficult to untangle which parts she would proceed and which she would change. Her cardinal attraction areas arsenic vice president — including artificial intelligence — and her interests arsenic a legislator and, earlier that, arsenic California’s lawyer wide and San Francisco’s territory attorney, supply a fistful of insights into what she mightiness prioritize if she should go president.

We cognize wherever she stands connected climate, we person immoderate consciousness of really she feels astir privacy, and we person a full array of tantalizing statements astir AI, but location is simply a wide scope of cardinal questions that she has yet to beryllium asked aliases has successfully avoided answering. She remains an enigma erstwhile it comes to tech antitrust and nan TikTok ban. And she has yet to speak straight to nan issues that astir interest nan moneyed philanthropist people of Silicon Valley, specified arsenic crypto regulation.  

“I deliberation this is simply a large opportunity for nan Democratic Party to do a small spot of introspection and opportunity — wherever person they mislaid definite communities?” Box CEO Aaron Levie, who frequently donates to Democratic candidates, told The Verge successful an interview. He said nan statement has seen “missed opportunities” pinch nan tech and business community, for illustration successful pushing for taxes connected unrealized gains and failing to update nan H-1B visa programme for high-skilled workers. Ultimately, he hopes for “a spot of a reset connected immoderate of either nan argumentation initiatives, aliases conscionable nan the reside and nan connection from nan party.”

For those successful nan tech industry, Harris’ argumentation stances are not peculiarly good known, says task capitalist and governmental strategist Bradley Tusk. A run head for Mike Bloomberg’s 2009 mayoral campaign, Tusk says that’s mostly because astir tech regularisation occurs astatine nan authorities level, “so it’s not for illustration she had this way grounds successful nan Senate, simply because they conscionable don’t do very much.” That intends there’s a batch to beryllium learned successful nan adjacent fewer weeks connected wherever Harris plants her feet connected a assortment of tech issues. 

The Verge took a look into really nan vice president’s inheritance and legislative history could pass what a Harris presidency could mean for tech — nan industry, nan workforce, and its effect connected consumers.

Antitrust

Many of nan caller legislative efforts to rein successful nan powerfulness of nan largest tech companies gained momentum aft Harris near nan Senate. She was ne'er 1 of nan much outspoken politicians connected antitrust argumentation to statesman with. During nan 2020 election, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was nan campaigner retired beforehand calling for nan breakup of large tech companies. Naturally, successful 2019, The New York Times asked Harris point-blank whether firms for illustration Amazon, Facebook, and Google should beryllium surgery up. Instead of giving a nonstop answer, she steered nan speech to privateness regulation.

Still, she’s near unfastened nan anticipation of enforcement. Also that year, she told CNN that “we person to earnestly return a look at” breaking up Facebook. She besides called nan level “essentially a inferior that has gone unregulated.”

The Biden administration’s antitrust argumentation — arsenic enacted by nan enforcers he appointed, specified arsenic nan Federal Trade Commission’s Lina Khan and nan Department of Justice’s Jonathan Kanter — has been aggressive, possibly moreover unprecedentedly so. It’s not clear whether a Harris management would support that up. The mobility she dodged successful 2019 will beryllium progressively difficult to debar now that she’s facing down a self-proclaimed tech antitrust advocator successful Republican vice statesmanlike nominee Sen. J.D. Vance (OH).

Whichever way Harris chooses, she’ll find immoderate friends successful Silicon Valley, which itself has divided connected nan rumor of antitrust. (The astir nonstop beneficiaries of antitrust policy, aft all, are nan rival companies.) “There’s not a meal that I’ve been astatine wherever 3 group tin work together connected an antitrust policy,” Levie said. “I person friends that are nan astir ardent supporters of capitalism, of free markets, that besides for illustration what Lina Khan does to support Big Tech successful check.”

Privacy

When avoiding nan Times’ mobility astir breaking up large tech successful 2019, Harris said that “the tech companies person sewage to beryllium regulated successful a measurement that we tin guarantee and nan American user tin beryllium definite that their privateness is not being compromised.” She added, “My first privilege is going to beryllium that we guarantee that privateness is thing that is intact.”

The connection sounds strong, but it doesn’t really opportunity overmuch astir what substantive policies she will endorse. She and different legislators grilled Mark Zuckerberg successful a nationalist proceeding successful 2018 successful nan aftermath of nan Cambridge Analytica privateness scandal, but her adversarial comments astatine nan clip were much aliases little successful statement pinch nan tenor of nan full hearing.

Non-consensual images and intersexual exploitation

There is 1 area of privateness successful which Harris has had a strong, substantive record: authorities and enforcement targeting nan sharing of non-consensual images. But this circumstantial rumor has not materialized into a much generalized argumentation position connected information privateness — it has alternatively been an hold of her activity astir online activity trafficking. 

Her activity successful this area predates her introduction to Washington, DC. While she was California lawyer general, Harris secured a blameworthy plea complete a hacking strategy to bargain friendly images disconnected of people’s Google accounts. 

Non-consensual images and activity trafficking are not nan aforesaid thing. But legislative and prosecutorial action directed astatine either person tally into nan aforesaid issue: Section 230, a ineligible liability shield for online platforms. While Section 230 does not immunize an individual from spreading nonconsensual images aliases sexually exploiting someone, erstwhile it comes to nan modern era, the astir sweepingly powerful action is to intervene astatine nan level of nan platform, whether that level is simply a juggernaut for illustration Google aliases a nonprofit for illustration Wikipedia. The creation of carve-outs to Section 230 for some nonconsensual images and intersexual exploitation follows much aliases little nan aforesaid exemplary pinch nan aforesaid stakeholders and nan aforesaid ineligible issues.

Notably, Harris pressed criminal charges against nan apical executives of Backpage.com, a personals website that hosted advertisements for activity work. After becoming a senator, Harris besides voted successful favour of FOSTA-SESTA, a rule excluding activity trafficking from Section 230. (FOSTA-SESTA was, successful part, a guidance to Backpage.) As pinch each laws implicating speech, location are concerns that FOSTA-SESTA was excessively broad. Sex workers and their friends person argued that nan rule puts them successful much danger, since uncovering clients online allowed for a grade of vetting and accusation sharing pinch others successful nan manufacture that’s little readily disposable now. The contention complete FOSTA-SESTA apt isn’t over. 

Artificial intelligence

Companies and labs processing precocious AI are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny owed to nan technology’s associated risks, including privateness issues, occupation displacement, bias and discrimination, deepfakes, AI-powered weapons, and nan arguable imaginable of artificial wide intelligence (AGI), which could make these systems arsenic intelligent arsenic their quality creators. To mitigate unforeseen risks, tech leaders for illustration OpenAI CEO Sam Altman person urged nan authorities to modulate AI.

Harris agrees, calling for “legislation that strengthens AI information without stifling innovation” successful an AI Safety Summit successful nan U.K. past November. At nan summit, Harris said that they should “consider and reside nan afloat spectrum of AI consequence threats to humanity arsenic a full arsenic good arsenic threats to individuals, communities, to our institutions, and to our astir susceptible populations.”

“And erstwhile group astir nan world cannot discern truth from fabrication because of a flood of A.I.-enabled mis- and disinformation, I ask: Is that not existential for democracy?” Harris said astatine nan U.K. summit.

Levie said nan existent management hasn’t had “major missteps successful AI,” though he wishes they’d travel retired powerfully successful favour of unfastened root AI. But he sees it arsenic much of a forward-looking issue. “I deliberation nan interest you could person is, nan adjacent 4 years are nan astir important, probably, for AI regulation. And truthful to immoderate extent, you do person to judge that nan statement has nan wherewithal to make really bully decisions,” he said.

TikTok

In April, nan U.S. enacted a rule that could prohibition nan celebrated societal media level TikTok arsenic soon arsenic January (unless its genitor company, ByteDance, decides to waste it off). Even though President Biden signed nan bill, Harris told reporters that a prohibition was not nan goal.

“We request to woody pinch nan proprietor and we person nationalist information concerns astir nan proprietor of TikTok, but we person nary volition to prohibition TikTok,” Harris told ABC News successful March. She besides added that TikTok has “very important” benefits, for illustration serving arsenic an income generator and “allowing group to stock accusation successful a free way.”

When asked astir her circumstantial views connected TikTok itself during an on-stage question and reply astatine The New York Times DealBook acme past November, Harris declined to comment.

Crypto

The Biden management has had a less-than-rosy narration pinch nan crypto manufacture owed to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler’s stance connected really it should beryllium regulated. Tusk said that he expects Harris will amended relations pinch nan sector, moreover if it’s conscionable by putting successful her ain SEC chair prime alternatively of Gensler.

Meanwhile, Republican nominee and erstwhile President Donald Trump and his moving mate JD Vance person indicated they would beryllium unfastened to a little regulated situation for crypto — Trump is moreover slated to speak astatine a crypto convention complete nan weekend. This deregulatory cognition has reportedly attracted $160 cardinal successful run contributions to nan Republican statement from nan crypto industry, arsenic good arsenic nationalist backing from nan likes of salient task capitalists Marc Andreesen and Ben Horowitz. (Their firm, a16z, has a $4.5 cardinal crypto fund.)  

Immigration and H-1Bs

The correct has already zeroed successful connected Harris’s tenure arsenic alleged “border czar,” moreover though her existent domiciled was focused connected diplomacy pinch Central America. But migration is overmuch much than a separator issue, and Harris would apt proceed Biden’s policies pinch regards to ineligible immigration and visas. A cardinal liking of nan tech assemblage is successful maintaining aliases expanding nan H-1B visa program, which lets high-skilled workers stay successful nan state to activity successful highly specialized jobs. As a senator, Harris worked pinch Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), to present nan Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, which would “remove per-country caps for employment-based greenish cards,” according to a property release. “We must do much to destruct discriminatory backlogs and facilitate family unity truthful that high-skilled immigrants are not susceptible to exploitation and tin enactment successful nan U.S. and proceed to lend to nan economy,” she said successful a connection astatine nan time. She has not spoken connected nan rumor much recently.

Climate

Harris is overmuch much of a known amount erstwhile it comes to ambiance and power policy. For that reason, she has already garnered support from immoderate major biology groups and business leaders successful cleanable energy. That includes nan League of Conservation Voters that rates lawmakers based connected their biology way records, and has fixed Harris a 90 percent connected her scorecard. 

The Biden management managed to walk legislation marking nan biggest investments successful cleanable power and ambiance yet successful nan US. And nan Environmental Protection Agency nether Biden and Harris has introduced sweeping caller contamination regulations for cars, power plants, and industrial facilities. All successful all, nan measures could toggle shape nan measurement Americans get around, really their homes are built, and really they get their energy.  

Nevertheless, nan US is still not connected way to meet ambiance goals it group nether nan Paris statement of slashing greenhouse state emissions by astatine slightest 50 percent by nan extremity of nan decade. Donald Trump could effort to swipe existing ambiance policies disconnected nan books. 

Harris is expected to take sides those policies, of course. And there’s moreover immoderate hope among ambiance advocates she could spell farther than Biden to ace down connected fossil fuels. Harris has taken a tougher stance, for instance, connected fracking — going arsenic acold arsenic filing suit against nan Obama management to extremity offshore fracking backmost erstwhile she was California’s Attorney General.

Tech donations and connections

Having spent astir of her governmental profession either successful California aliases representing it, tech and intermezo companies were among nan apical contributors to Harris’ 2020 statesmanlike campaign. According to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks governmental donations and groups together organizations’ governmental action committee (PAC) spending and worker donations, nan University of California was nan apical contributor to her run astatine $209,00. Harris raised $144,00 from Alphabet, $137,000 from Disney, and $134,000 from AT&T.

Harris, who was calved successful Oakland, has immoderate individual connections successful nan tech manufacture arsenic well. Her brother-in-law, for example, is Uber’s Chief Legal Officer Tony West. She besides attended nan wedding of Napster co-founder and erstwhile Facebook president Sean Parker, according to The Washington Post. 

None of these ties aliases donations elucidate what a Harris presidency intends for tech. Despite being from nan area, she is not a Silicon Valley politician; contempt being 1 of those starring nan astir successful push to whittle down nan immunity shield of Section 230, she is not an anti-tech politician, either. 

But successful an predetermination twelvemonth that saw some nan transition of nan TikTok ban and nan once-in-a-generation DOJ antitrust suit against Apple, location are tech argumentation questions that Kamala Harris cannot debar forever. The GOP summons has already articulated its position — coherent aliases not — on some of those issues. It will beryllium Harris’ move soon enough.