The American Election Chapter 2: Harris-Walz Interview, 2024 DNC Platform. Takeaways for Tech and Telecom.

Strand Consult continues its 2024 US Election Coverage with an analysis of the Democrats’ Platform and policies. Without endorsing candidates, Strand Consult provides insight and transparency and links to primary source material to help readers draw their own conclusions. Policy on tech and telecom is developed outside elections, but the national party platforms (also called political programs) define goals and objectives. See Strand Consult’s first chapter in the series on the 2024 Republican platform. The next chapter will compare the platforms side by side.

This note describes Democrat proposals which could impact the telecom and information technology sectors, notably broadband internet, privacy/data protection, merger policy, universal service, digital service regulation, and information security vis-à-vis China. The allocation of electromagnetic spectrum (the airwaves) may be the single most important element of telecommunications, but it is not mentioned in either party platform. This is not surprising as elections tend to be decided on the most pressing economic issues to the voter.

The tech and telecom policy of the Democrat Presidential ticket is not yet fully known and is likely to continue in the vein of President Biden and the Democrat platform. This section reviews top line statements for possible clues.

Harris-Walz Interview

CNN’s Dana Bash conducted the first interview of the Democrat presidential candidate and her running mate (interview transcript), noting that this campaign is the shortest period in memory in which voters have had so little time to get to know the candidate. Bash asked what Harris would do upon coming into office, and Harris noted a focus on creating an “opportunity economy” for the middle class (a concept lifted from Republicans.). Bash asked why Harris, who has been vice president for three and a half years, has not worked on these things. Harris responded that Biden Administration worked on negotiating the cost of medicine. When asked whether Bidenomics was a success, Harris declined to answer and shifted to the need to bring down the cost of groceries.  

Bash asked for clarity on key policy positions as there has been “flip-flopping”, noting the “Green New Deal” which Harris supported as a California Senator in 2019 and the Harris statement “There is no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.” In the CNN interview, Harris said that she is no longer favors a ban. This was noted a key for the must-win swing state of Pennsylvania.

Bash moved to immigration. “During the Biden-Harris administration, there were record numbers of illegal border crossings. Why did the Biden-Harris administration wait three and a half years to implement sweeping asylum restrictions?,” Bash asked. Harris did not answer directly but described that her work resulted in benefits such as investment in certain Latin American countries and some reduction in immigration.

Separately, according to NBC News, President Biden tapped Harris to tackle immigration in March 2021 with a “Root Causes Strategy” to deliver $4 billion to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala so that people there would not be compelled to leave their homes. NBC’s analysis of public documents, aid disbursement and the VP’s schedule concluded that this work “evaporated within months,” that Harris has not visited the southern border, or the countries to its south, since January 2022.

Using US government data, Pew Research reported that  “migrant encounters” with U.S. Border Patrol at the southern border notched a new record of 250,000 in December 2023, eclipsing the previous monthly peak of about 224,000 from May 2022. During Harris’ time in this role, US Customs and Border Protection recorded approximately 10 million illegal border encounters nationwide. Encounters at official ports of entry have exploded, from just under 20,000 in January 2021 to more than 117,000 in June 2024.  From 2021 through mid-July 2024, US Border Patrol had recorded 52,058 arrests of migrants with criminal backgrounds, compared to 21,936 between fiscal years 2017 to 2020. Apprehensions between ports of entry of individuals on the terrorist watchlist have increased from just 14 in the previous three-year period to 380 since fiscal year 2021.

Bash questioned Walz on being in National Guard for 24 years but never serving in a war zone. Walz shifted to his public service in the classroom and Congress. Bash asked Walz about his claim that his wife used in vitro fertilization to get pregnant not being accurate and also about his 1995 arrest for drunk driving and recklessness. Walz shifted to a discussion of people who know him and his work on issues he cares about.

Bash asked Harris whether she regrets telling the American people that Biden should serve another years, when shortly thereafter  he stepped down, the intimation that there was a lack of honesty on Biden’s fitness for office.  Harris did not answer directly, only to say that she was honored to serve with the President.

DNC Convention

At the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago last week, Vice President Harris accepted the formal nomination for President with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Outside of Biden’s speech on the first night, the DNC downplayed the current President. Moreover, there was scant mention of Harris role as Vice President, which would ostensibly be her best, most recent record to judge, and indeed would be an opportunity to evaluate key platform goals of securing the border, reforming asylum laws, expanding immigration, and stabilizing neighboring countries. 

In her campaign, Harris pivoted to earlier jobs as San Francisco District Attorney and California Attorney General. At the DNC, she declared, “I fought against cartels who traffic in guns, drugs, and human beings. Who threaten the security of our border and the safety of our communities…After decades in law enforcement, I know the importance of safety and security, especially at our border.”  However, this statement does not appear entirely consistent with her call to defund the police and support for sanctuary city policies. Harris claimed that an illegal border crossing should be classified as a civil infraction, not a crime. There could be good arguments for that view, however prosecutors must enforce the laws as they are, not what they want them to be.

The non-partisan Marshall Project offers an authoritative assessment  on Harris’ prosecutor record in California, concluding mixed outcomes that defy the platitudes of both parties. Politifact fact checked both conventions and candidates’ speech. It rated Harris’ characterization of Republicans’ view on abortion as Mostly False.

The Harriz Walz campaign has said little on tech or telecom issues. In May 2024 Governor Walz signed legislation to repeal two Minnesota statutes designed to protect the communications market from unfair competition by municipal government providers.  Notably Walz’ goal is for Minnesota’s municipalities to access BEAD money. The notion that the local government should fund and/or establish communications networks to compete with local providers is generally prohibited under state aid rules in the European Union. Simply put, EU policy posits that precious resources for broadband networks should be prioritized for regions which have no service.

’24 Democratic Party Platform

On July 13, Democrats released the Biden-Harris draft platform. However, US President Joe Biden stepped down July 21 and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for President. Almost one month later on August 18, the Democrat Party released the platform for vote, which was approved unanimously  at the convention.  As of this writing, the Democrats’ national party platform page still links to their 2020 platform. 

The approved 2024 platform mentions Biden’s “second term” nineteen times in the document, a point explained by the co-chair of the convention platform committee, that  delegates were told “that the platform was passed ‘prior to the president passing the torch in an act of love and patriotism.’” All told, the platform mentions Biden 287 times and Harris 32 times. In any event, the document is valuable to review as a record of the accomplishments the Biden Administration believes important.

Broadband

In 92 pages, the Democrat platform mentions broadband 3 times in the context of affordability vouchers; and the Internet, 9 times. While not mentioning the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) by name, it remains a signature Biden Administration accomplishment which now is embraced by both parties, including Republican Vice President Candidate J.D. Vance who co-sponsored a bipartisan bill to extend its funding.  Some 23 million vulnerable Americans used ACP to obtain and retain their broadband subscription with a monthly $30 voucher.

The platform notes, “We’re bringing affordable, reliable, high-speed internet to every American household. High-speed internet is as vital to our economy today as electricity first was a century ago; Americans need it to do their jobs, to do their homework, to access health care, and to stay connected. But a full 45 million of us still live in areas where there is no high-speed internet. Democrats are closing that divide. “These projects don’t just build infrastructure, they create hundreds of thousands of good jobs for American workers,” notes the platform document. Strand Consult has described this policy in a series of reports on broadband cost recovery.

Meanwhile, the bipartisan US Senate Universal Service Fund (USF) Working Group has studied how to modernize the outdated telephone tax into a sustainable program for USF and ACP by incorporating the contributions of US tech companies, firms which profit enormously from the programs but pay little to nothing to support broadband networks. Various bipartisan Congressional bills have emerged and would seem be a policy win for a Democrat president, but recent  and prior campaign contributions to Harris from Google, Alphabet, Apple, and Meta suggest that she could prioritize Big Tech over consumers.

Infrastructure was a key theme for Biden, enshrined in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ($1.2 trillion) which focused largely on roads, public transit and high-speed rail. While not mentioned specifically in the party platform, Congress funded  $42.5 billion in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program with grants for new builds in each state. In a popular meme, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr notes that after 1,000 days, the BEAD program has yet to break ground, as some 2 million Americans wait for highspeed broadband. The fatal flaw of the program could be that it tasked the White House agency National Telecommunication Information Administration (NTIA) with the job rather than the bipartisan FCC, which has the greater experience and capability to distribute billions in broadband grants annually.

A key change from the 2020 platform is Democrats promise to “restore the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) clear authority to take strong enforcement action against broadband providers who violate net neutrality principle.”  There is no mention of Title II net neutrality in 2024. This suggests that Democrats won’t risk burning more political capital on an issue which has divided Washington for decades while costing hundreds of millions of dollars in litigation. Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have affirmed the major questions doctrine and rejected deference for regulatory agencies. This means that wihout an explicit grant of authority, regulators cannot regulate. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel remains steadfast that the FCC will prevail on Title II transformation of broadband to a public utility.

Tech Policy

The Democrat platform boasts that Biden has “held Big Tech accountable.” Beyond the assertion that “Tech platforms and companies help keep us connected, inspire ideas and innovation, and create a global marketplace,” Democrats hammer tech companies on abuse; for example on ending violence against women “including survivors of technology-facilitated abuse” (p. 48); how they promote antisemitism (p. 62);  and on fentanyl.  The platform adds that Biden “will also leverage all resources of the federal government to stop tech platforms from being used for criminal conduct, including sales of dangerous drugs like fentanyl.” (p. 69).

Under the section PROTECTING KIDS ONLINE, STRENGTHENING AMERICANS’ DATA PRIVACY, & PROMOTING COMPETITION, it notes: “they collect, share, and exploit data; risk our children’s mental health; and deepen extremism and polarization. There is growing scientific evidence for what so many Americans already know: Social media and other online platforms can affect our mental health and well-being – particularly for our kids. In addition, a handful of dominant tech platforms and companies increasingly control much of the market, allowing them to exercise enormous power over Americans’ daily lives – and, too often, use that power to exclude competitors and undermine consumers and innovation…social media and other platforms have allowed abusive and even criminal conduct like cyberstalking, child sexual exploitation, and non-consensual intimate images to proliferate on their sites.” As of this writing, legislation to update child privacy has passed in the Senate and has been introduced in the House.

Democrats also dropped the bombshell, “We must also fundamentally reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields tech platforms from liability even when they host or disseminate violent or illegal content, to ensure that platforms take responsibility for the content they share.”

While noting some benefits of artificial intelligence (AI), Democrats declare AI is “being used to clone voices, commit fraud, institutionalize bias, and undermine democracy” and calls for banning AI voice impersonations. Democrats have no mention of cypto or space commerce, so Republicans appear to have claimed the ground for these areas in becoming the party for innovation and emergent “Little Tech” like AI.

Economy

The party devotes significant discussion to lowering costs as do Republicans. Harris has co-opted Republican calls for no taxes on tips and an “opportunity economy that works for everyone.” Notably Republicans see cutting regulation as the jet to reduce prices; Democrats may prefer direct intervention and price controls. A new report comparing the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations suggests that Biden-Harris policies cost each US family $50,000 per year. Separately the National Association of Manufacturers estimates that Biden-Harris policies amounts to $50,000 per manufacturing worker in a small company.

Democrats promises to crack down on “junk fees” on airlines, hotels, apartments, banks, and internet providers (p. 24).

Gas and Groceries has its own chapter in the platform: “too many families still feel the pain of inflation at the grocery store, or around the kitchen table when they sit down to pay their bills.”

For context, US inflation hit a 40 year high of 9.1% in June 2022. Gasoline prices which have creeped up globally following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, increased 62% under Biden ($3.52 per gallon at its high).  Under his predecessor, they fell from $2.42 to $2.17, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Consumer Price Index more than doubled under Biden versus his predecessor.

Democrats blame Covid supply shocks and corporate greed for these price increases. Separately, it is significant that US government spending hit a new high under Biden, almost $5 trillion in 2023, or 18.6 percent of GDP in 2023, up from 12.6 percent in 2000.

China

There appeared to be little to no discussion of China at the DNC. The platform includes a section on the country in its foreign policy chapter.  Democrats call the country “America’s most consequential competitor,” not an adversary. The bottom line of the Democrat policy appears to be “de-risk and diversify…not decouple.”

Democrats describe “pushing back on unfair trade practices that harm American workers… protect a targeted number of sensitive technologies with focused restrictions, creating a “small yard and a high fence” that preserves our national security.” It notes “increasing tariffs on steel and aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, critical minerals, solar cells, ship-to-shore cranes, and medical products…denying China access to most advanced technologies that allow them to develop their military and surveillance capacities.”

On China, the Republican platform noted need for similar restrictions. It calls its China policy “rebalancing trade” and “securing strategic independence”. The GOP asserts need to rebuild military and alliances to counter China. Democrats describes a series of steps taken by Biden to strengthen existing alliances to counter China.

Democrats have a stretch goal that 50 percent of all new US passenger cars by 2030 be electric; it remains to be seen how this climate goal is balanced with tariffs on foreign electric vehicles, promotion of US labor, and domestic green jobs.

Addressing fentanyl appears to be another point of party difference, though only by matter of degree. Democrats assert, “President Biden pushed China to take action to curb the flow of fentanyl into the Americas.” The GOP says it “will deploy the U.S. Navy to impose a full Fentanyl Blockade” and plans on “boarding and inspecting ships to look for fentanyl and fentanyl precursors.”

Conclusion

In a short time, Vice President Harris delivered an impressive feat to eclipse Biden as the Democrat’s candidate and close the gap with Trump. A review of the record finds some distance between campaign spin and reality of accomplishments. The respective party conventions garnered similarly large audiences, while exceeding viewing from 2020, the numbers are still lower than 2016.

At this writing, the US Presidential election remains a toss-up, even though polls are historically inaccurate. The candidates have yet to debate. Both Presidential candidates have expressed similar sentiment on lowering consumer costs, securing the border, and growing the economy.

The Democrat platform expresses disillusionment with Big Tech, blames corporate greed for a range of ills, and calls for strong regulation on AI. Given Harris’ long-time backing from Silicon Valley, it’s questionable whether she pursues platform promises and instead softens the party’s stance on AI, antitrust enforcement, and other key priorities.  

Tech and telecom issues were even less pronounced in the 2024 Democrat platforms as in 2020, proving the election year adage that elections are determined by voter perception of the economy. This is summed up by Democrat strategist James Carville who declared, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

Disclosure

Strand Consult’s Roslyn Layton submitted a pro-bono amicus brief in the Title II net neutrality litigation, offering a review of the outcomes of light touch vs. heavy-handed broadband internet regulation across countries over the last decade. Her briefs have appeared both in favor and against FCC policy. See Strand Consult’s library on net neutrality internet regulation.