Personal Security and Privacy in the Digital Age

On Thursday, Sen John McCain's campaign released the candidate's four-part value statement on making people more confident in the safety, security and privacy protections on the Internet.

1) Sen McCain wants to ensure the personal security and privacy of Americans in the digital age through self-regulation, consumer education, technical innovation and increased law enforcement.

2) Sen McCain writes that there is a need for personal security in the digital age because when threatened, and not met by an appropriate preventive or remedial response, the public's confidence in technology and its economic and societal benefits will lie at risk. The federal government, McCain writes, must display greater leadership to stop digital predators by vigilantly enforcing laws designed to protect Americans' personal security and privacy, promoting educational efforts among consumers and in our schools, providing incentives for continued investment by American industry in the development of more secure technologies, and encouraging personal responsibility in our society to recognize and defuse threats. Industry, he says, must be proactive to help protect individual Americans from the ever-present threats posed by advanced technology through security tools, effective self-regulation, and educational initiatives.