Privacy '08

The McCain campaign released a press release today regarding personal security and privacy. The release details McCain's record with regard to privacy legislation, as well as his principles for personal security and privacy in the digital age.

Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr released a press release today blasting Congress for failing to repeal the REAL ID Act. Senators McCain and Obama both voted for the measure when it was passed as an amendment to an appropriations bill. "Protecting the people’s liberties and privacy is central to government’s role, not an afterthought – factors obviously not important to my opponents in both the Republican and Democratic Parties who supported the Real ID Act," Barr stated.

Declan McCullagh has a post today on his Iconoclast blog explaining how Bob Barr hopes his enthusiasm for electronic privacy will help his campaign for the White House.

Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr released a press release yesterday criticizing Congress for approving amendments which weaken FISA’s requirements. Barr refutes the claims of lawmakers that the bill balances security and privacy, stating, "to the contrary, the bill grants the government unprecedented power to surreptitiously spy on the phone calls and emails of American citizens in our own country, so long as the government claims to believe that they are communicating with someone not in the U.S."

On Wednesday at the National Press Club, aides to Senators John McCain and Barack Obama offered a brief look of what a Department of Homeland Security might look like under each candidate. The aides spoke as staff assistants, and not for the campaigns, but their statements nonetheless offered interesting insight into the candidates' views.

Aides Offer Broad Outlines of Candidates’ Homeland Security Priorities, CQ Politics, July 10, 2008

The Patient Privacy Rights organization has compiled information regarding each candidate's position on health privacy. Click here to view the report.