US Vice President Kamala Harris is a potential Democratic presidential nominee in the November election and has a history of views and actions related to key business topics. Harris has been perceived as a capitalist and has close ties to big tech executives. She has accepted donations from prominent tech figures and has been supported by top tech executives such as Sheryl Sandberg. Harris has also taken action on tech regulation, such as suing eBay over anticompetitive hiring practices and leading efforts to curtail the distribution of pornography on social media.
In terms of climate and energy, Harris shares President Joe Biden’s stance on clean energy and environmental justice as priorities. She has a history of taking on big oil, winning multimillion-dollar settlements with major oil companies over pollution violations. Harris supports expanding offshore wind energy and other renewables, in contrast to the previous administration’s support for fossil fuels. She has made commitments to international climate efforts, such as pledging $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund and pushing for environmental justice policies within the US.
As California Attorney General, Harris was tough on big banks, walking away from settlement talks in 2011 that led to banks increasing their aid to consumers affected by predatory lending and home foreclosures. She launched a criminal investigation into Wells Fargo for unauthorized accounts and credit cards. Harris has garnered support from major Wall Street figures as potential donors for her campaigns. In the pharmaceutical industry, Harris has opposed health care industry consolidation to prevent higher prices for consumers and has brought antitrust lawsuits against drugmakers and health insurers.
Harris has also addressed the threat of artificial intelligence (AI) and the responsibility of tech companies in guarding against its dangers. She has supported Biden’s executive order on AI that aims to protect consumers from AI-generated scams and unlabeled AI content. Harris has emphasized the importance of ethical considerations in the development and implementation of AI technologies. Overall, her positions on big tech, tech regulation, climate and energy, Wall Street, pharma, and AI reflect a commitment to addressing key business issues and priorities as a potential leader in the Democratic party.
