Welcome to the Tech Policy Podcast, your source for policy rants and raves from Tech Freedom,

your Washington, D.C. advocate for the freedom to tinker and innovate. On today's show,

the Democratic debate in South Carolina.

Joining me in our DC studio to talk about it is Hopeless Micromanager and President of Tech Freedom, Baron Soka.

Baron, thank you for joining me for what is this.

A fifth time?

You know me too well.

Now, tech policy doesn't get much love in presidential debates,

but a question from a YouTube star prompted a revealing exchange between the candidates on balancing national security interests with our right to privacy.

Hi, my name is Marquez Brownlee, and I've been making YouTube videos about electronics and gadgets for the past seven years.

I think America's future success is tied to getting all kinds of tech right.

Tech companies are responsible for the encryption technology to protect personal data,

but the government wants a backdoor into that information. So do you think it's possible to find

common ground and where do you stand on privacy versus security?

So Governor O'Malley. Thank you. I believe whether it's a back door or a front door

that the American principle of law should

still hold, that our federal government should have to get a warrant, whether they want to come

through your back door or your front door.

So, Baron.

Governor O'Malley had a clever line in there, but his comment doesn't really address the

problem of having a back door in the first place. Well, first, let me just compliment. Brownlee asked exactly the right question.

He couldn't have put it better. So hats off to him.

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