Rand Paul speaks out against government surveillance at SXSW, criticizes net neutrality

AUSTIN, Texas, March 16 (UPI) -- Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., made an appearance at SXSW on Monday, and he made some statements about technology.

"There is a right to privacy and the government needs to stay out," he said of the government's mass surveillance, according to US News & World Report. "If they want to look at your information, if they want to collect any of your data, they should do it with a judge's warrant with probable cause if they think you have committed a crime." He went further by saying he supports Google and Apple's efforts to encrypt communications so the government can't access them.

Paul has shown opposition to mass surveillance in the past, including filing a suit against the president and the NSA in the beginning of 2014.

Paul also said he will be joining Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to introduce an amendment to the Patriot Act.

More in line with fellow Republicans, Paul said he was against the steps the FCC has taken to promote net neutrality.

"If we had postal neutrality we wouldn't charge more for quicker delivery," he said. "People pay more to have something transmitted fast... These are methods for market efficiency."