President and ceo of the Consumer Technology association and he is our guest this week on the communicators. What is the cta and who do you represent . Guest first, thanks for having me. Its great to be back. The Consumer Technology association is nonprofit trade association representing over 2000 American Technology companies. We produced the greatest, finest, coolest, most amazing event in the world and that is the ces health each january in las vegas. Host we will get to see us in the moment but who are some of the never companies . Guest everyone you would expect to see when you walk into your local best buy, but we also have sony and apple and you name it 80 are Small Businesses but 20 of the big ones with everyone from google to airbnb to lift, the disruptors as well as companies starting out with new Technology Startups as well. Host you take policy positions . Guest yes, we do. We are very strong and clear on what polly positions we take. We are strong at certain areas and we stay out of other areas. Host what is one policy position . Guest we believe strongly in the concept of innovation is a good thing and we should foster innovation. Its something american, its in our dna and we excel at it and we want to make sure people can create something without having to go get permission from government and want to make sure the United States is a leader in innovation so we try tried to h policies that favor innovation. Host what did you learn at ces this year . Guest i learned, secretary ross was there with many other government officials and spoke to our board and he said coming to this event gives me faith in the future of our country. Its the optimism that innovation produces. Its the sense we can improve the human condition, we can make life better, people can live safer, healthier, longer lives, get better education, communicate and the greater mobility. Even food production, clean water, the most fundamental problems were seeing that mankind is facing are being resolved by innovation and technology. Host how many exhibitors . Guest over 4400 companies exhibiting an almost 3 million square feet of exhibit space. Host attendees . Guest over 107,000 people came from around the world, over onethird from outside the United States. Host joining us today is rebecca kern who is with Bloomberg Government. She is the Capitol Hill Technology policy reporter welcome. Host thanks for having me. I went to ces and saw a lot of the policy sessions i wanted to dig into what were some of the fastest areas of growth you are saying at ces these days. I know theres a lot of health and wearables. Where else are using growth . Guest health is one of the biggest because technology is an alternative to a lot of surgery and drugs and things like that. Were growing by leaps and bounds because her so Much Technology can do. Mobility is very big. Not only did we see so much in self driving cars and electric cars and hybrid cars but also different forms of mobility including urban mobility involving, different names, essentially helicopters, and, of course, all sorts electric scooters and things like that, all forms of transportation. Then yesterday talking about transportation you testified at the house energy and Commerce Committee about autonomous vehicles. How to envision regulations around them. Could you share some of the thoughts you shared at that hearing yesterday and the biggest take away . Guest it was a tremendous opportunity we have in history for mankind where we are losing about 1 Million People a year through death and several a month due to injury in car accidents. Most are human error. Night 4 is human error. If we could get rid of with all loss people to tragedy that it just have to occur in the future if we get it right. We will empower disabled people. There was a witness who was blind, represent blind people, speaking in favor of this technology. There was older people as well, all aging and is getting someone back and forth to the doctor is a big deal. Its a competitive battle going on. Major countries like china and other European Countries and others that are trying to lead a self driving cars but in the United States we have a lot of the technology in the detroit area but also with silicon valley. There so Many Companies now that a part of this ecosystem but we have to get right from a different point of view. Host ces in many ways has become a car show. Guest it certainly is a show and theres a lot of almost every Major Car Companies there because its not only the show, its not a consumer show, its a show for the entire ecosystem is there. They are doing deals because to succeed yet to do deals across your industry. We have chip companies, Different Companies that makes the columns and with brand names. Consumers want to replicate their life at home, i want to put in the car. Its internet access, audio, video, geolocation devices, so many Different Things you can do. Host are we ready for Driverless Cars or connected cars . Guest consumers are voting with their pocketbooks. They are spending a tremendous amount of money. Cars sold now have features, automatic brake systems, all these things which make cars safer and were starting to see for the first time now a real dip downward despite the fact where driving more miles, the death rate is starting to go down. Sometimes its based on mileage, based on speed limits and things like we want to avoid like texting while driving but we are starting to see a great trend down that im hopeful will continue. Where do you envision legislation happening . The house is looking into some form of legislation. It is been tried before. What are some principles you like to see if we were to see a bill . Guest as you know legislation with ruth unanimously two years ago through the house and Nothing Happened in the senate. Although the trial lawyers were part of the drafting process and signed off on it, they change the position for some reason. Its a challenge because look, if we go to Driverless Cars its going to affect trial lawyers. Fewer cases for them to bring and they will make a lot less money. It will affect auto parts replacement and machine shops and tow truck drivers. Even drivers themselves. All these legacy businesses and jobs are different. I dont think its our obligation as coach to make sure that lawyers have jobs. I dont think we should allow lawyers to kill this legislation. They have done it once already and they see every new technology as an opportunity to sue or preserve the status quo. We know a lot of things in my entire career, dealing with status quo industries, trying to protect themselves. We saw with the Motion Picture industry, vcr and recording equipment and were seeing now what theyre trying to do with the internet, trying to impose to 30 30 liability on Internet Companies because you dont like it. Same thing with hotels. Theyre trying to shut that airbnb. Between the Movie Companies and airbnb, the Hotel Companies are trying to shut down a lot of newer competition. What makes America Great is that the right to do that. Its the right to petition the government but what makes America Great is our government general doesnt listen to them because we favor innovation and progress. Thats who we are as as a coun. Not protecting the horse and buggy with companies in the industry thats out there. You brought up to 30 which is a liability field thats been in place for over 20 years. We are now hearing conversation hearing conversation in congress, senator hawley, senator graham looking at kind of trying to break that, amended in certain ways, make it contingent on political speech, neutrality is what the proposal is. Youre not allowed to protections unless you are ensuring speech on lightest neutral, which has no bipartisan support now but do you foresee cracks in 230 happening this congress . Guest if i do my job, they should. Senator josh hawley has a very promovie industry bias. Theres a secret about that when he was attorney general. He doesnt like the technology industry. Hes gunning for an award and when you have like former Vice President joe biden who said some of the same things, the Motion Picture industry is very strong, powerful lobby group and the recognize that. If it wasnt for section 230, the internet today would not exist. Theres a reason with five times the number of unicorns in the United States than europe despite the fact where roughly comparable in size. That is with foster innovation. We said this is a great technology. It sounds confusing, section 230. All it means is if you are an Internet Provider you are not responsible for what individual consumers are posting on your website, within certain exceptions and reason. Its the First Amendment thing. That is something which has allowed us to grow. Look, if this happens, if section 230 goes way, will Google Google and twitter survive . Yes. When a new startup survive . Absolutely not. Will someone like and airbnb ebay . Yes. Theres a problem there. Thats a problem we face. This is not about these great people saying we are concerned about consumer things and trying to idly some senators are falling for this ruse. It is a ruse because whats going on is trying to say this is something thats not hurting americans. This is about the First Amendment and about someone try to state their opinions online. We are dealing with the coronavirus thing in china. The Chinese Government shut down the internet and the doctor the word about it. Now they are didnt with a major, Major Health Issue because they are shutting down the government. We are not china. We have a fundamental belief in the First Amendment. The First Amendment is what is embedded into 30. Whether not beckon to countrified internet scrutiny or First Amendment and i dont find it. We do want to see Congress Erode section 230. Host it was Just Announced britain is developing an office of internet regulation to be called off, pick is that a slippery slope . Guest its an existing British TelecomTelecom Offices out there and even ready theyve been pretty reasonable a lot of these issues will see with ago. Europe, their approach is been we cant alienate so we will regulate. But unable to innovate. They recognize it. The kind of change it instantly different ways. Well see what happens. One of the reasons why britain did that is the regulations that he was posting a britain didnt like. Id be surprised given the british sensibility if thats the direction they were going in. I think they will be looking to innovate, too great, to free up some of the strictures they felt because of the eu. Im not losing sleep over that one but maybe i just dont know enough. Speaking of europe, the past gdpr, one of the largest privacy regulations systems in the world now and we are looking at doing something similar in our congress. What are the prospects you see for a federal privacy bill moving this year and what principles would you like to see if such a bill were to move . Guest gdpr is a great example of good intentions. The fact its across europe is a good thing in the sense and to the extent we copy if i similarly it makes it better if theres even more of a global standard. That allows anyone to start a a business and go globally a meter. What we are most concerned about is that the standard itself but rather having 50 states with 50 different rules all trying to claim a name for themselves and ruin American Business and grab money for the state. What makes america strongest sensor found is a fact by national bases we have we have a large innovation population and we create and we invent. To the extent we try to construct that by having 50 different states with 50 different rules, thats big problem. The numberone thing is a National Standard. The second thing is lets stop giving incentives for trial lawyers and hungry attorney general to sue businesses. Of course we want to know whether something is legal or not and will follow the rules especially if it can be done on a national basis. Lets not incentivize every lawyer to do it. The problem i have with the lawyers, and i am a recovering attorney, its the most profitable thing any university produces its lawyers. They have huge classes in the pay a lot of money. Anyone can get a lot agree. Its not that difficult to pass bar exams. You have people who are licensed to sue and the use. Theres only so much of a lawyer tax our country can do. If we have a problem with another competitor like iraq or iran or someone else we dont like and and i think we shoulde what they have for our lawyers because we have so many lawyers that can maybe teach english, two other step and we need to reduce our number. Its out of control at this point. But like provision wise, where do you want to see privacy moving . You would like to see one National Standard so youre in support of preemption it sounds like. Guest heres the deal. We face competition and a sense of three ways. We have ourselves as three competitors, the europe approaches privacy is everything. They have very little innovation but you have the right to be forgotten. You can do some horrible things and erase the whole and that history of you. Thats what they do in europe. Thats their law. They have the right to make their laws. China goes other way. China is there is no privacy. We know everything about you. We know all your biometrics. Its unacceptable for us and europeans to say this is what the government does is they take advantage. So to me its like goldilocks and the three bears. One is too hot, one is too cold. I id read a speed right in the middle. All these new technologies we know are coming. The required information and data. I was talking to the head of a Major Medical department and i would think im lucky if i can get 4000 data sets. Im up against the chinese. They have 400,000 and its no big deal. Privacy is great but theres a tradeoff in privacy with whats reasonable. We should control it as americas but not in every situation. If state is involved, if health is a false we give it up a little bit and we always will and we should. In competition and advancement, people a proven that theyre willing to give up their information for the greater good it should be more of ultra basis but the Business Committee needs standards to follow and we will follow them. But dont kill all innovation in the name of some of protecting innovation. Everyone else has lost a lovedo cancer, we can get cures if we collate treatment and the persons pass, this is something we need to share information on. Hopefully people dont voluntarily. Host are we aware we are sharing this information . Guest Healthcare Information is much more sensitive versus commercial information. The reason that facebook and google and some of these things are Free Services is because you are sharing information, giving ads which are more suited to you. We are moving slowly to an era where there are standard. We created stands with apple and fitbit and samsung and google and others. They covered have these devices share information. No one is talking about that anymore because industry has a set of guidelines they follow and its transparent, simple language, opt out. These are things which are common sense guidelines. Industry would be happy to follow. Its just a matter of having voluntary guidelines or government developing but for e cant afford to choke innovation. Host the next competitive field, is who is the name you can trust with privacy . Apple is a good example of a company that people trust with their information. Samsung is another great example. They have done a good job of keeping peoples information private. Where we have seen action is californias ccp a. Can you give us an oppression of what went into effect, what is your Company Think is a far . It is not enforceable until jul. Guest we saw a flurry of activity, the large compass of a lot of lawyers and the do with it. The small cars scratched her head and say what . The startups, if something is affected by that that may affect the funding, may affect their ability to start a business. To the extent to follow europe was a bad thing. I just dont think states should have the own laws on this. We need a National Standard because it is chilling and if we have to follow 50 different states, that kills the Startup Community and thats what whate cant afford to happen. They dont love 50 states approach either. Its more expensive for them, difficult to get at useful messages. You have to explain the different consumers in different states what youre doing. Speaking of large compass, ftc recently announced they will start looking at mergers in the past that large tech compass like microsoft, google, amazo, apple and facebook have conducted over the past decade. What do you think of this retroactive look back of mergers . The have i