Tech issues a no-show at MTV-MySpace candidate event

(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com)

NEW YORK--Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was the fourth and final presidential candidate to appear at the youth-focused "Closing Arguments" question-and-answer session, co-hosted by MySpace, MTV, and the Associated Press. And as with her predecessors--Republican candidates Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul and Democrat Barack Obama--Clinton, a senator from New York, was not asked to touch upon technology policy.

Net neutrality, piracy, and online privacy were barely mentioned (UPDATE: Ron Paul did briefly allude to his opposition to restrictions on Net use and online government snooping), and environmental and energy issues were only addressed peripherally as the vast majority of talk focused on the war in Iraq and the economy. But at the same time, the event itself was as Web 2.0 as they get.

Questions came from not only the studio audience, but also through MySpace and MTV News' Web sites. Candidates' responses were polled live through a widget on MySpace, using technology from Flektor, a start-up that MySpace parent company Fox Interactive Media acquired last year. And the event was live-streamed all over MySpace, MTV, and Associated Press Web properties.

So, commenters, I'll let you talk this one over: are young voters unaware of technology issues that will undoubtedly be shaped by whoever wins the presidency later this year? Or, with economic and national security issues at the forefront, does technology legitimately take a back burner?

Have at it.

[sas473]

Net neutrality...

"Net neutrality, piracy, and online privacy weren't mentioned at all"

I believe you meant to state "Net neutrality, piracy, and online privacy weren't mentioned at all EXCEPT BY RON PAUL"

Ron Paul clearly stated he's against restrictions on the Internet and discussed how important the government is not allowed to read our emails and things like that... make the correction or find another job if all you're suppose to do is report on what happened

[caroline.mccarthy]

Duly noted...

...can't get everything live. He said it very quickly and in passing as part of a much longer monologue, but I've updated my post to reflect the fact that he did mention it as a small talking point.

[ablib]

Actually RON PAUL mentioned he would not regulate the internet

cant remember the exact words, but Paul mentioned keeping the internet free
just throwing that out there..

you find out more about ron at ronpaul2008.com and join us at ronpaulforums.com

[Imalittleteapot]

My question.

My question is do voters care? That's not a nice way of saying it so let me explain.

We have email encryption. However, most people don?t know about it and even less people use it. I know what it is. I know what it does. I know why I should use it, but I?m not using it. That is mainly because people I email wouldn?t be able to read it because they don?t know what it is.

Also, when it comes to the people that know their email goes out into the open where it can be read most don?t seem to care. Anyone that has ever signed up for any sort of online account knows how much information the websites collect. Name, address, and everything, and they know it will probably be sold to other corporations, yet people just go ahead and type that stuff in. Well at least they type something in. So, is online privacy really that important to the voters?

Ron Paul talks about keeping the Internet free, but does that really say anything to voters. A free unregulated internet to most voters would mean a Wild West internet where governments can?t do anything about spam, online gambling, hate speech, or porn sites. Most voters wouldn?t support that. A lot of people would want the Government to regulate hate speech and porn websites because they don?t really understand what that would be doing to free speech. They don?t care as long as their kids don?t see porn.

So, when Ron Paul talks about the Freedom of the Internet I think voters don?t even understand about Net Neutrality or privacy or piracy or any of that. Since I have no statistics I couldn?t say what percentage of people actually understand what Net Neutrality is. However, even if they did understand what Net Neutrality is would that win a vote?

The attack on Net Neutrality is going to come in the form of, ?Teenagers pirating music are slowing down your Internet connection when you are just checking your mail.? That?s probably going to be the thirty second sound bite. So, we need some statistics here to tell us what the average voter does with their computer. If the average voter just checks email and browses the web then when they hear that sound bite they are going to go right out and vote for a regulated internet.

I?m not saying the electorate is stupid, but they do vote for their interests and not necessarily what?s best for the whole. If someone starts telling them that a regulated internet is better for them because they just use email we might be in for a world of hurt.

[sas473]

exact quote and link

for those who need a follow up on what each candidate stated, check MTV's site:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1580847/20080202/id_0.jhtml

Ron Paul was the 2nd candidate to speak and spoke a bit too scholarly and quickly for the MTV crowd... maybe he's just too smart for America or America is too dumb :p just kidding guys lol

[mikestatic1]

Politics for Dummies

Young voters are unaware of any policy that isn't presented in a 30-second YouTube spot. The only good thing is, they are too ignorant to actually vote, a privilege so many have died for. Sad bunch.

[dramamoose]

Ignorance

You, my friend, are quite simply an idiot. Much of the political oomph in this election has been generated by the "ignorant, non-voting, youth." I know of a great group of kids (myself included) who have worked VERY hard for political candidates. We've read up on the issues, we've picked our candidates, and now we're making our voices heard.

Why, you might ask? Well, simply put, because people from your generation (I'm assuming you're not young) have done a pretty good job of screwing up politics in this country for the last few years. Now it's our turn to pick up the pieces. Get out of the voting booth, grandpa.

[tbgallien]

HOPE

A NEW HOPE
We all have been living a nightmare. A vision D. Eisenhower warned of in his 1961 farewell address to the nation. In his address, Eisenhower warned of the corruption of our government, our society, and our culture by the MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. It seems that, as a nation, we have not listened. Eisenhower?s dire vision has become our reality. And from this fearful dream, this nation is waking. Our eyes are opening to the truth collectively for the first time. WE THE PEOPLE are finding that we have been subjugated, placated into ignorance and fear, lied to by the very people we have entrusted to preserve and protect our rights, liberties, and our constitution. Many will turn away in fear of truth and close their eyes once again. To open our eyes to this reality, is to also understand that we are all responsible for it as well. complacency and dependence upon the machine keeps THE PEOPLE in line because it is convenient and safe. We have sold our souls. We have as a nation let this happen to ourselves.
My heart breaks for the people of this nation. Our government wages war upon our freedoms, liberties, and our constitution. I watch our republic?s destruction, not to the sound of guns or bombs, but to the sound of thunderous applause of those held captive by terrified patriotic blindness, guided by the propaganda of fear, as we give our rights and even the lives of our fellow man for the profit of the corrupt. A fear that is erasing our great history of freedom and repeating itself 70 years later with another dictatorship of war, under the guise of homeland security and the protection of the people.
BUT THERE IS STILL HOPE.
With love and openness, we can overcome ignorance and fear. It is our right as the people, and my duty as a United States MARINE written into our constitution by our founding fathers, entrusted to us, by the people, to ensure that our liberty, freedom, and the constitution never again become the subjugation of the corruption that we have wrought upon ourselves. We must take back our country, and give it to the people. So let us open our hearts, take responsibility, and make our HOPE become our reality. Lets begin REVOLUTION. His name

Dr. Ron Paul