2016 Republican And Democratic Platforms Include Focus On Cybersecurity, Privacy, Technology And Innovation

Norma Krayem is a Sr Policy Advisor in our Washington D.C. office

On July 19, 2016, the Republican National Committee released its 2016 Platform which includes a focus on cybersecurity, privacy, data protection, and technology issues throughout the document and in three sections in particular:

• Building the Future: Technology
• The Fourth Amendment: Liberty and Privacy
• Cybersecurity in an Insecure World

The platform highlights the recent passage of cybersecurity information sharing legislation and calls for a U.S. response to national state attacks that would include "diplomatic, financial and legal pain, curtailing visas for guilty parties, freezing their assets, and pursuing criminal actions against them." It also calls for the U.S. to take an offensive strategy against cybersecurity attacks "to avoid the cyber equivalent of Pearl Harbor." Supply chain issues, cyber workforce, cyber insurance, and the right to "self-defense" against cyber attackers were