As the US presidential election draws closer, Republicans and Donald Trump have come out with some key policy pledges, with the big picture message described as “a return to common sense” when it comes to tech.
Among problems like the economy in general, geopolitics, and a variety of trends influencing society, the platform mentions central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), cryptocurrencies, freedom of speech, government involvement in censorship, and AI development.
This party platform was adopted by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and offers promises of reversing some of the most controversial policies endorsed and executed by the current White House.
One is the effort to push for the introduction of a digital dollar (CBDC) – a centralized digital currency that opponents have for a long time rejected as yet another tool to further limit and weaken people’s financial independence and privacy while adding more building blocks into the foundations of mass surveillance.
The way the platform frames this is as Republicans being dedicated to finding future economic progress for their country by becoming a leader in what the document calls emerging industries – but clearly stating that a CBDC does not qualify.
What does, according to the platform, are decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and here the RNC vows to at once end Democrats’ “unlawful and unAmerican crypto crackdown” and, at the same time, oppose a (US) CBDC.
Supporting Bitcoin, the GOP platform states means defending the right to mine the cryptocurrency. Addressing the issue of government meddling in people’s economic sovereignty, the document declares that the party will defend “the right to self-custody of their digital assets, and transact free from government surveillance and control.”
The Biden administration’s AI Executive Order is dismissed as “dangerous,” while a pledge is made that Republicans will back AI development that is based in free speech, and “human flourishing.”
By contrast, the Biden order is seen as putting roadblocks in the path of AI innovation, while at the same time imposing “radical left-wing ideas on the development of this technology.”
And then there’s what some Republicans have shown as a “weaponized government” under the current White House – specifically, one striving to impose ideology and allow for the government to join forces with private tech giants to stifle lawful speech, using this as a political weapon against opponents.
“We will declassify government records, root out wrongdoers, and fire corrupt employees. We will ban the Federal Government from colluding with anyone to censor lawful speech, defund institutions engaged in censorship, and hold accountable all bureaucrats involved with illegal censoring. We will protect free speech online,” the GOP platform states.
