Ro Khanna champions internet Bill of rights

An internet Bill of rights that he is discussing with technology sector leaders and civil liberties groups would focus on legal parameters for the use of personal data and other regulatory challenges of the digital era, U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna has said.

Mr. Khanna, who represents the Silicon Valley in the U.S. House of Representatives, has been entrusted with the task of writing the law by Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. The lawmaker told The Hindu that he hoped to have a draft out in May. “We are talking to tech leaders, other stakeholders and we will have something out by May,” Mr. Khanna said on the sidelines of an event at the Capitol Hill last week.

Among other things, the proposed law would seek to “protect our data, to make sure that we have access to our data, could move our data to wherever we want to take that, delete our data if we want to and restrict the use of our data by companies”, Mr. Khanna said.

Confronting party

The 41-year old lawmaker, grandson of an Indian freedom fighter, has been at the forefront of several battles that confront the Democratic Party. Google’s parent company Alphabet is among his top donors, but Mr. Khanna has emerged as a strong advocate of the American working class over the last two years. Mr. Khanna’s efforts since his victory in 2016 to reach out to the distressed manufacturing workers who voted for Donald Trump in large numbers have been widely noticed.

Mr. Khanna publicly expressed his frustration over his colleagues’ inability to extract a firm commitment from Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg over privacy and data protection during a Congressional hearing in April. “There are some who didn’t know what cookies were and some who didn’t know how Facebook made its money,” he had said in an interview. “I think this is a time for leadership.”

Limiting surveillance

The internet Bill of right that Mr. Khanna is championing also seeks to limit state surveillance of citizens and ensure more transparency in the process. “With the revelations that the executive branch is collecting warrantless metadata on American citizens, there has been growing bipartisan support for legislation to strengthen civil liberties,” a policy brief on his website says. “..Specifically limiting the reach of the National Security Administration (NSA) is a critical first step.”

Mr. Khanna is also a strong advocate of net neutrality and universal web access, which could be part of the internal Bill of rights.

“There is anger and frustration among people about institutions that are not working…We have to offer a vision of economic aspiration for people across this country… about how they and their kids are going to participate in the tech economy and advanced manufacturing..about how we are going to free politics from special interests, lobbyists and big money..and ensure that citizens have a voice in democracy,” Mr. Khanna said, outlining his efforts to reshape the Democratic Party. Mr. Khanna feels there is a recognition in the Silicon Valley that it could do more for communities in middle America while these communities increasingly feel that with right investment and training they could take part in the new economy.

Scope for partnership

“So there is scope for a lot of partnership,” he said. “The key challenge is to build those partnerships, those bridges.” The lawmaker also believes that regulations must be mindful of not curtailing the innovative energy of the Silicon Valley.

His work as lawmaker for more than a year has made Mr. Khanna a “thought leader of the Democratic Party,” believes M.R. Rangaswami, a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur and Indian American community leader.