Harris on July 12, 2023. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Likely Democratic frontrunner Kamala Harris is a longtime friend to the tech industry.
Why it matters: Though Harris would continue President Biden's tech policy agenda, she'd likely be more hesitant to break up Big Tech and strip platforms of their liability shield.
- Harris would bring a new level of authority to tech civil rights issues, and her commitment to protecting reproductive rights would likely correlate with a push for strong online protections for private information.
The big picture: As San Francisco's top prosecutor, California's attorney general and the state's U.S. senator, Harris has had a long history with tech.
- As AG, Harris went after tech companies' role in online sex harassment. As senator, she grilled executives like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Capitol Hill.
- But Harris has also benefited from maxed-out financial contributions of many tech executives.
Early on in the Biden administration, the president named Harris the AI czar, tasking her with strengthening international rules and norms around the technology.
- It is expected Harris would want to continue carrying out Biden's executive order on AI, with an emphasis on human rights and algorithmic fairness.
- "[I]n the absence of regulation and strong government oversight, some technology companies choose to prioritize profit over the wellbeing of their customers, the safety of our communities, and the stability of our democracies," Harris said at the Global Summit on AI Safety in London last year.
- She also said she rejects "the false choice" between protecting the public or advancing innovation.
On Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, Harris has not explicitly called for its repeal since becoming VP, unlike Biden.
- In previous campaigns, she has vowed to hold tech companies accountable for the hateful content on their platforms.
- Harris fought for stronger privacy protections as AG, brokering a deal in 2012 with the biggest tech platforms.
Harris has not been vocal on antitrust and breaking up tech giants.
- But it's doubtful she would stop the ongoing tech antitrust cases going on at the DOJ and the FTC, and it's unlikely she'd change leadership atop either agency.
Our thought bubble: Harris has been more careful than Biden in how she talks about Big Tech.
- While she is likely to carry out many tech policy initiatives Biden already started, we expect a friendlier tone toward companies, especially as she is likely to keep focus on reproductive rights, immigration and democracy.
- For those in Silicon Valley — some of who have vocally supported former President Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance — Harris' California bonafides may make them think twice.
