Sen Rand Paul Asserting Himself on Tech

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a Tea Party favorite, appears to be trying to play a more assertive role in tech issues on Capitol Hill, indicating during a speech that his free-market views on most issues extend to tech as well.

Speaking before the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, Sen Paul touched on many hot-button tech issues including cybersecurity, Internet regulation, privacy and piracy. He indicated that while he may support the importance of for example protecting intellectual property rights, he opposes heavy-handed government intervention. The speech was billed as a discussion of Internet freedom, but Rand discussed a wide range of issues including cybersecurity, which the Senate debated this week. He said he does not favor legislation that would impose a lot of government mandates, saying passing a law won't necessary prevent every cyber threat. "We may pass an immense cybersecurity bill, and something may still happen," Sen Paul said. However, he said he would support providing companies with an antitrust exemption so they can share information and also would back allowing government agencies to share some cyber-security information with the private sector.