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Ted Cruz on Technology

 

 


Require Apple to unlock iPhones used by terrorists

Q: What about the government requiring Apple to unlock an Apple iPhone used by a terrorist?

CRUZ: Apple should be forced to comply with the court order because under the Fourth Amendment, a search and seizure is reasonable if it has judicial authorization and probable cause. We should enforce the court order and find out everyone that terrorist at San Bernardino talked to on the phone, texted with, e-mailed. Apple doesn't have a right to defy a court order in a terrorism investigation.

RUBIO: Apple doesn't want to do it because they think it hurts their brand. Well, let me tell you, their brand is not superior to the national security of the United States of America.

KASICH: The president should have convened a meeting with Apple and our security forces. You lock the door and you say you're not coming out until you reach an agreement that both gives the security people what they need and protects the rights of Americans.

Source: 2016 CNN-Telemundo Republican debate on eve of Texas primary , Feb 25, 2016

Target cell phones and tech that Bad Guys likely to use

Q: Senator Cruz, you voted for a bill that made it harder for the government to access Americans' phone records. In light of the San Bernardino attack, was your vote a mistake?

CRUZ: Well, the premise of your question is not accurate. I'm very proud to have joined with conservatives to reform how we target bad guys. And what the USA Freedom Act did is it did two things. #1, it ended the federal government's bulk collection of phone metadata of millions of law-abiding citizens.#2, it strengthened the tools of national security and law enforcement to go after terrorists. The prior program only covered a relatively narrow slice of phone calls, primarily land lines. The USA Freedom Act expands that so now we have cell phones, now we have Internet phones, now we have the phones that terrorists are likely to use and the focus of law enforcement is on targeting the bad guys. We need to focus on radical Islamic terrorists and we need to stop them before they carry out acts of terror.

Source: 2015 CNN/Salem Republican two-tier debate , Dec 15, 2015

Of course China & Russia have conducted cyberwarfare on US

Q: In your view, have Russia and China committed cyber war, and if you were president, what would you do about it?

CRUZ: Well, of course they have, and over the last six and a half years we've seen the consequences of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy. Leading from behind is a disaster. We have abandoned and alienated our friends and allies, and our enemies are stronger. Radical Islam is on the rise; Iran's on the verge of acquiring a nuclear weapon; China is waging cyber warfare against America. General Soleimani, the Iranian general is the head of the al Quds forces and directly responsible for the murder of over 500 American servicemen in Iraq--part of this Iranian deal was lifting the international sanctions on General Soleimani. The day General Soleimani flew back from Moscow to Iran was the day we believed that Russia used cyber warfare against the Joint Chiefs. We need a new commander in chief that will stand up to our enemies, and that will have credibility.

Source: Fox News/Facebook Top Ten First Tier debate transcript , Aug 6, 2015

We need serious tools to protect against cybercrime

By far my most interesting experience at DOJ was my brief but telling tutorial on U.S. -European relations. In 2001, I helped lead the U.S. delegation to Rome for the Council of Europe's negotiations on a treaty relating to cybercrime.

Ultimately, we finalized the terms of an important treaty on cybercrime, something that has become all the more important in our modern world. Whether it is the North Koreans hacking Sony to try to stop the release of a movie making fun of King Jong Un or ISIS hacking U.S Central Command's Twitter feed to spread Islamist propaganda, cyberattacks are becoming a greater and greater threat to our nation. And we will need serious tools, and cooperation with our allies, to protect ourselves going forward.

Source: A Time for Truth, by Ted Cruz, p.123-4 , Jun 30, 2015

PolitiFact is left-wing editorializing dressed up as fact

There is, a new, particularly noxious species of yellow journalism that is beginning to infect what passes for modern political discourse. It's called "PolitiFact." Through this website, left-wing editorial writers frequently dress up their liberal views as "facts" and conclude that anyone who does not agree with their view of the world is objectively lying. Then, left-wing hacks immediately run out and say, "Look! This conservative said something that PolitiFact calls a lie. He wouldn't know the truth if it hit him with a two-by-four!"

The first problem with websites like PolitiFact is their heavy selection bias. They pick and choose what to check and what not to check.

A second, bigger problem is that PolitiFact often labels statements by conservatives "false" because the statements criticize liberals.

The third, and biggest, problem is that they regularly define left-wing opinion as an objective "fact." Anyone who disagrees with left-wing opinion is therefore a liar.

Source: A Time for Truth, by Ted Cruz, p.237-8 , Jun 30, 2015

Net neutrality is ObamaCare for the Internet

Web companies are pressing the Federal Communications Commission for new rules that would require Internet providers to treat all online traffic equally. But Senators Cruz, Paul and Rubio are anything but neutral on net neutrality--they hate it, much less any government regulation at all.

Companies like Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Yelp--through their Washington trade group, the Internet Association--are public backers of net neutrality. They together have praised Obama for endorsing an approach that might subject the Internet to utility-like regulation. All three Republicans, however, rejected the president's suggestion. Rubio hammered it as "government regulation of the Internet" that "threatens to restrict Internet growth and increase costs on Internet users." And Cruz lambasted net neutrality as "ObamaCare for the Internet" in a tweet that went viral--and drew plenty of criticism.

Source: Politico.com 2014 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls , Nov 29, 2014

Voted NO on authorizing states to collect Internet sales taxes.

Congressional Summary: The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 authorizes each state to require all sellers with sales exceeding $1 million in the preceding calendar year to collect and remit sales and use taxes, but only if complying with the minimum simplification requirements relating to the administration of such taxes & audits.

Opponent's Argument for voting No (Cnet.com): Online retailers are objecting to S.743, saying it's unreasonable to expect small businesses to comply with the detailed--and sometimes conflicting--regulations of nearly 10,000 government tax collectors. S.743 caps years of lobbying by the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represent big box stores. President Obama also supports the bill.

Proponent's Argument for voting Yes: Sen. COLLINS. This bill rectifies a fundamental unfairness in our current system. Right now, Main Street businesses have to collect sales taxes on every transaction, but outbecause -of-state Internet sellers don't have to charge this tax, they enjoy a price advantage over the mom-and-pop businesses. This bill would allow States to collect sales taxes on Internet sales, thereby leveling the playing field with Main Street businesses. This bill does not authorize any new or higher tax, nor does it impose an Internet tax. It simply helps ensure that taxes already owed are paid.

Opponent's Argument for voting No: Sen. WYDEN: This bill takes a function that is now vested in government--State tax collection--and outsources that function to small online retailers. The proponents say it is not going to be hard for small businesses to handle this--via a lot of new computer software and the like. It is, in fact, not so simple. There are more than 5,000 taxing jurisdictions in our country. Some of them give very different treatment for products and services that are almost identical.

Reference: Marketplace Fairness Act; Bill S.743 ; vote number 13-SV113 on May 6, 2013

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Page last updated: Jul 09, 2016