Rand Paul already made it clear that he’s a friend of tech businesses when he defended Apple during a tax hearing last week. Now the Kentucky senator is heading to the heart of Silicon Valley to see if he can drum up some fundraising support.
The Hill reports that Paul will be meeting with Google, Facebook and eBay this week. It’s officially designated as a fundraising trip, but he will probably take some time to talk legislation as well. It’s not known if he will actually be meeting with executives, but we’re sure to find out later this week.
So, what kind of legislation could Paul be talking about with the likes of Google and Facebook? Well, Paul did just recently introduce the Fourth Amendment Preservation and Protection Act. The bill would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant when snooping through email and other online communications. Google has indicated in the past that it would support such a bill, so it’s not out of the realm of reason to suggest Paul will be talking to Google about his legislation.
Of course, we can’t forget the tax issue either. Paul called out his fellow congressmen last week when they accused Apple of dodging corporates taxes. In the hearing, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that everything Apple does is legal under current law, and suggested Congress reform the tax code instead of pointing fingers.
Google CEO Larry Page largely agrees, even if he was talking about the UK tax code. He said that Google will pay whatever the tax code dictates. He called upon government to change the tax code if it’s unhappy with the current system.
In short, it seems that Paul and Google have quite a bit in common when it comes to certain issues. I’m sure he will be engaging some of the people at Google on these issues this week while he drums up support for his next move.