Interview, Fireside Chat, Conference Presentation
a16z Podcast | Taking the Measure of Tech in Policy -- with Kamala Harris
- Senator Kamala Harris emphasizes that critical tech policy decisions are often made at state and local levels by governors, attorney generals, and mayors, rather than solely in Washington, D.C.
- Harris advocates for a "smart on crime" approach that prioritizes prevention and the public health model over reactive punishment or a binary "tough vs. soft" stance.
- Her strategy for balancing innovation and safety involves using a "carrot first, stick later" methodology, prioritizing industry collaboration over immediate litigation or regulation.
- In 2010, as California Attorney General, Harris initiated a six-month dialogue with Apple, Microsoft, and six major platforms to establish a voluntary industry standard requiring mobile apps to display explicit privacy policies.
- Harris notes that while the agreement was voluntary, the California Attorney General's office remained prepared to litigate against non-compliant entities, citing this as a crucial leverage point.
- During her tenure as Attorney General, Harris launched the "Open Justice" initiative to release criminal justice data, including arrest records and deaths in custody, to the public, journalists, and academics.
- Analysis of Open Justice data revealed that while African Americans constitute 6% of California's population, they account for nearly 25% of in-custody deaths.
- Harris argues that government adoption of big data and predictive analytics is essential for improving public safety, education, and health outcomes, moving away from traditional reliance on anecdotal evidence.
- She asserts that cybersecurity policy must expand beyond prevention to include detection, resilience (rapid recovery of infrastructure), and accountability.
- Harris cites the 2016 Russian election interference as an example of the critical need for "detection" and "resilience" in national security infrastructure.
- She prosecutes the case of "cyber exploitation" (referred to by Harris as distinct from "revenge porn") where non-consensual intimate images are shared and the perpetrator demands payment to remove them, characterizing this as extortion.
- In response to cyber exploitation gaps, Harris convened 50 tech companies, law enforcement, and victims in San Francisco to establish industry protocols for takedown and notification.
- Harris is currently sponsoring federal legislation to make cyber exploitation a federal crime to address existing legislative obsolescence regarding digital harms.
- In the U.S. Senate, Harris serves on four committees: Budget, Environment and Public Works, Homeland Security, and the Intelligence Committee.
- Harris and Senator Lindsey Graham are engaging in bipartisan discussions to develop comprehensive immigration reform, with Graham willing to recruit Republicans from "red states" to visit California.
- The proposed bipartisan strategy involves bringing Senators from states with low immigrant populations to meet directly with Dreamers and H-1B visa holders to counter ideological fears with personal reality.
- Harris observes that a lack of direct community interaction causes many legislators to view immigration as a theoretical or ideological issue rather than a human one.
- Harris argues that the Senate's dysfunction often stems from partisan lenses that obscure nonpartisan human concerns, such as personal health, employment stability, and family safety.
- She encourages the technology industry to share its expertise on security frameworks (prevention, detection, resilience, accountability) with federal lawmakers to modernize national security policy.