Inside Kerry and Bush's Technology Agendas

wbren writes "PC Magazine has posted an interview on its website shedding some light on the two major candidates' policies regarding privacy, The Patriot Act, outsourcing, Internet sales taxes, broadband taxes and other important tech-related issues. PC Magazine calls it an interview, but John Kerry was the only candidate to actually respond directly to the questions asked. Bush's camp referred PC Magazine to George Bush's website to find the answers. The result: detailed and informative responses from Kerry, and many missing responses from the Bush campaign due to lack of information provided by Bush's website."

Comments

Boiled-down version

[dcmeserve]

I felt the urge to paw through the whole thing and put together a highly-abbreviated version:

Do you think the federal government should be doing more to prevent or restrict the outsourcing of technical jobs to foreign countries? If so, what?

Kerry: use tax incentives

Bush: people should be educated more

Do you think the federal government should have a role in expanding broadband usage? If so, what sort of role?

Kerry: govt can't do it, but can encourage:

- tax incentives

- make more spectrum avail. for wireless services

- R&D investments

Bush: specific goal to have univ. access to broadband by 2007

- don't tax b'band access

- reduce regulations

- "promote two promising technologies" -- b'band through power lines, wireless

How do you feel about tax credits for companies investing in research and development?

Kerry: it's good

Bush: it's good

What is your position on taxing Internet sales and service?

Kerry: it's bad

Bush: no answer

What is your position on unauthorized online file-sharing?

Kerry: it's bad. we need to enforce copyright laws. fortunately new technologies and business models are helping

Bush: no answer

What is your position on COPA (Child Online Protection Act)?

Kerry: we must "make the internet safer for children by protecting them from harmful material in a manner that is consistent with the First Amendment"

Bush: no answer

Should the federal government be doing more to stop and prevent spam, viruses, and worms? If so, what?

Kerry: "Absolutely." Especially viruses/worms.

Bush: no answer

How do you feel about the SPY Act and other antispyware legislation introduced in Congress last month?

Kerry: May be needed, but would prefer combo of better enforcement of existing laws and more private-sector efforts (e.g. more-secure OS's, browsers)

Bush: no answer

Do you think the federal Wiretap Act should be updated in the wake of the recent federal ruling that e-mail stored on a provider's server is not protected by this act?

Kerry: yes

Bush: no answer

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