January 2016

[Commentary] Just this weekend, Washington (DC), and much of the East Coast was hit by massive snow storms. Severe weather conditions can strain a city’s resources and risk lives even under the best conditions. But imagine if, taking advantage of the situation, a sophisticated cyber attack had also taken down the electrical grid, snarling communications, disabling emergency services and hospitals — even robbing people in their homes of life-saving heat. How would America have responded? How serious a toll on human life could it have taken? It is frightening to think about just how reliant we are on technology, and just how vulnerable that can make our society. Cybersecurity must be a national priority — not only to protect our nation, but to protect ourselves and our neighbors.

As President, I will prioritize America’s cybersector, bringing together private, public and government resources to secure and advance America’s online presence. Central to this initiative is the establishment of a National Cyber Security Administration (NCSA). Just as NASA helped centralize America’s efforts in the space race, the NCSA will be instrumental in winning the cyberspace race. This is not another federal bureaucracy. On the contrary, the NCSA will consolidate inefficient government initiatives and offices, eliminating stovepipes and providing a central point for public-private cooperation.

[Dr. Ben Carson a retired pediatric neurosurgeon and Republican candidate for president]

Internet Service Providers are different. They are different from other online players like Apple, Facebook, or Google, both because of their unique role as Internet gatekeepers and because of the nature of the market for consumer-facing last mile Internet service. Their umbrella-like ability to capture individual interactions over the Internet and all aspects of an individual subscriber’s daily use patterns is notable. And unlike other actors in the Internet
ecosystem, wireline and wireless ISPs are always able to connect individual Internet use patterns to a subscriber’s real name, address, phone number, and billing history.

With its rulemaking authority, the FCC should set privacy baselines that help to define the minimum standards that Americans can expect from their ISPs. In the long run, the adoption of these basic rules will encourage more Americans to engage in the modern Internet by offering subscribers control over the personal data that they have no choice but to reveal to their common carriers. A clear regulatory framework will ensure that the Internet continues to grow as the essential communications network millions of Americans already recognize it to be—a network where free and open speech flourishes.

[Commentary] For many years, New York City has been developing a “free” public Wi-Fi project. Called LinkNYC, it is an ambitious effort to bring wireless Internet access to all of the city’s residents. This is the latest in a longstanding trend in which companies offer ostensibly free Internet-related products and services, such as social network access on Facebook, search and email from Google or the free Wi-Fi now commonly provided in cafes, shopping malls and airports. These free services, however, come at a cost. Use is free on the condition that the companies providing the service can collect, store and analyze users' valuable personal, locational and behavioral data. This practice carries with it poorly appreciated privacy risks and an opaque exchange of valuable data for very little. Is free public Wi-Fi, or any of these other services, really worth it?

It’s ironic that, in this supposed age of abundant information, people are so poorly informed about how their valuable digital assets are being used before they unwittingly sign their rights away. Developing a way for people to correctly value their data, privacy and information security would be a major additional step forward in developing financially viable, private and secure alternatives. With it might come the possibility of an information age where people can maintain their privacy and retain ownership and control over their digital assets, should they choose to.

[Benjamin Dean is a fellow for Internet Governance and Cyber-security at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University]