Loretta Lynch confirmation hearing: Electronic privacy, protection will be priority

If confirmed as the nation’s next attorney general, Loretta Lynch is likely to spend most of her time in cyberspace.

At a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Ms. Lynch said that electronic privacy and protection is central to many American rights and privileges.

And much of the senators’ questioning focused on areas that are increasingly tied to the digital world, including child pornography, cybersecurity and government surveillance.

“If confirmed, I intend to expand and enhance our capabilities in order to effectively prevent ever-evolving attacks in cyberspace, expose wrongdoers, and bring perpetrators to justice,” Ms. Lynch said. “I will continue to use the combined skills and experience of our law enforcement partners … to defeat and to hold accountable those who would imperil the safety and security of our citizens through cybercrime.”

Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, pressed Ms. Lynch on her support for protecting business’ intellectual property rights.

“As American technology becomes ever more complex and becomes ever more a target, companies must be protected,” Ms. Lynch said in response.

Ms. Lynch also said she would support bi-partisan Congressional efforts to overhaul child pornography laws that critics say have largely lagged behind the development of the Internet.

“Throughout my career I have expressed a commitment to prosecuting those who harm our children, either through child pornography or abuse,” Ms. Lynch said.

But Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, said he is “concerned about the structure at the Justice Department for handling cybersecurity” and the way that resources are distributed across the agency.

Ms. Lynch said that combating terrorism — in all its forms — is her top priority as a prosecutor and potential attorney general.

“A cyberattack being carried out on behalf of a terrorist entity is one that we take great pains to prevent, to detect and to disrupt,” she said.