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With a lineup full of tech executives, musicians, and celebrities, South by Southwest attracted tens of thousands of visitors to Austin, Texas this week. Panels included Googles Eric Schmidt (GOOGL), actress Jessica Alba and athlete Charles Barkley.

Republican senator and unconfirmed presidential hopeful Rand Paul also took the stage, addressing technologys emerging role in politics. Senator Paul announced this week that his team plans to open a tech-oriented office in Austin.

Paul positioned himself as a champion for privacy in technology, stating that he believes that President Obama has failed us as far as defending privacy. Paul added that he ran as someone who would protect your privacy and that many of the young people have fled this president because they were disappointed.

Paul was referring, in part, to the National Security Agency, known commonly as the NSA. The government agency garnered significant criticism in the wake of accusations made by former government contractor, Edward Snowden.

I am the only candidate who thinks the NSA program on bulk collection of your phone records should be shut down, Paul said. The senator added that he is not against the NSA, but he thinks they should obey the Bill of Rights.

Paul commented on the recent controversy surrounding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has come under fire for using a personal email address for government communication.

Convenience shouldnt trump national security, Paul said. If shes communicating with the president, it ought to go to a secure server.

When Texas Tribune CEO and moderator Evan Smith asked if Paul ever used a personal email for his work, he responded,Were not required to do anything under a government email. The executive department is under different standards.

Paul also spoke of his decision to use Snapchat for reaching young voters.

If you dont go to a platform where they are, you will not find them, he said.

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Rand Paul Tech-ed Off at Obama

Sen. Rand Paul speaks at SXSW, Sunday, March 15, 2015 in Austin, Texas. AP

Ahead of a possible 2016 bid for the White House, the Kentucky senator opened a new technology office Monday in Austin -- a liberal oasis in the staunchly conservative Lone Star state.

"Senator Rand Paul will run the most innovative, tech-forward operation of any elected official in the country," Paul's senior digital strategist, Vincent Harris, said in a statement ahead of the grand opening. "This will be a crowd-sourced campaign that places an emphasis on creativity and innovation."

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Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul warns that Republicans also need to protect the entire Bill of Rights, and not just the Second Amendment.

The office, located in the Capital Factory complex in downtown Austin, will focus on gearing up an "energized" volunteer base to run "the most technologically-savvy campaign in the field," according to the senator's newly hired senior field and technology strategist, Rachel Kania. Paul's shiny new office occupies the same space that hosts indie game developer groups, investment networking seminars, and "music meets tech" happy hours.

Paul appeared in Austin over the weekend at the popular art and tech festival South by Southwest (SXSW). He spoke with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith during a Sunday "Conversation with Rand Paul," touching on tech topics near and dear to the senator.

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Security experts say the NSA has figured out how to hide spying software deep into computer hard drives. CNET's Bridget Carey joins CBSN with mor...

The Kentucky senator earned a few rounds of applause for his objection to the National Security Agency's mass surveillance programs, and also previewed a "leave-me-alone coalition" meant to fight for privacy rights.

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Rand Paul breaks ground at new office in Austin

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul referred to himself as a candidate in a tweet about the National Security Agency Sunday.

Many twitter users quickly picked up on the reference, asking the senator to clarify what he meant.

However, Pauls assertion that he is the only candidate who thinks the NSA program on phone records should be shut down is actually not true. Paul voted against cloture for the USA Freedom Act in 2014, whichwould have reined in the NSAsbulk collection of phone data,and the bill failed to get the 60 votes needed to advance. Paul voted no because the bill would have reauthorized some Patriot Act provisions until 2017.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, another potential presidential candidate, voted for cloture.

Paul could be referring to his Kentucky reelection, but that is unlikely because he is the only person currently running.

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Did Rand Paul accidentally call himself a candidate? - VIDEO: Rand Paul reacts to WH warning GOP to stand down on Iran

BOWIE, Md. Rand Paul did not make a good first impression on Robert Stubblefield. In 2013, the then-20-year-old student at historically black Bowie State College watched a livestream as the Kentucky senator spoke athistorically black Howard University. It didn't go well for Paul, who was interrupted by a protest, and laughed at by students whom he presumed to teach black history.

"He sounded like he was talking down to blacks about the Republican Party," recalled Stubblefield, now a graduate student in public administration. "How come you guys abandoned us? We're the onesthat freed the slaves! There was a time when y'all voted Republican! He didn't understand, it wasn't like we just voted for Democrats. We voted on issues."

Two years later, Stubblefield had a fourth-row seat for Paul's visit to Bowie State. He'd initially sat in a back row, behind half a dozen cameras set up to tape Paul. But several students in those seats were encouraged to move to the front. Even when they did, the student center ballroom that hosted Paul's speech was a little more than half full, with white libertarian visitors (at least 45 had signed up on a Facebook event page) complicating the image somewhat.

The content more than made up for that. Paul has sharpened his pitch to black audiences over many visits and roundtables, some well-covered and some more private; he's also re-introduced sentencing reform bills that give him more to talk about.

"Those of us who have jobs and have lived fairly privileged lives don't know what it's like to pay fines and penalties on top of other fines, and how someone's life can spiral out of control,"said Paul, leaning on a podium and wearing a plaid shirt and jeans. "As I've learned more about criminal justice system, I've come to believe it's something that's going to keep the two Americas separate."

Paul ran through data and examples, from Ferguson to the novels of Tom Wolfe, to demonstrate the tragedy of over-criminalization. Some of his examples had clunked when he debuted them on TV or radio appearances. "What reason do we have for telling the police that they have to take someone down for selling cigarettes that aren't taxed?" asked Paul. "Couldn't we give them a ticket?"

He was referring (though not by name) to the Eric Garner killing in New York, and while thatanalysis had been a brief outrage last year, it made no ripplein the Bowie State auditorium. That was likely because he put everything in the context of laws discriminating against non-whites and the poor. The effect of current de jure criminal codes, said Paul, was "somewhat like segregation."

Paul never lost his audience, largely because the format was so tightly controlled. Instead of calling on audience members, Paul spoke to a moderator who based some questions on suggestions provided by the crowd. The only question from the audience focused on a remark he made about how he wanted tax-free zones in blighted cities like Detroit, and that it wasn't acceptable to just hand over "a billion dollars" and accept cities to fix themselves.

"We give Israel $3 billion annually," said Pierre Dorival, a sophomore at the college. "Where does that money come from, if we don't have it for Detroit?"

"It's true of everything on the margin that we don't have money for some things," answered Paul. "The other day we had people come in wanting money for diabetes. There's a lot of good causes out there, and they want money for it, but I tellthem what I tell everybody else: If there's a cause you believe in, you have to figure out where the money comes from."

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Rand Paul attacks modern 'segregation' in speech at black college

Paul was in Austin, Texas, to announce the opening of his local office ahead of a likely presidential bid of his own. | AP Photo

Sen. Rand Paul shared a piece of advice Sunday night for whoever wins the presidency in 2016: Dont use your private emails.

The subject of federal officials using private email addresses for professional communications has been hotly debated since news surfaced that Hillary Clinton just weeks before the expected April launch of her 2016 campaign used a private email address for all of her communications while serving as secretary of state.

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Paul, in Austin to announce the opening of his local office ahead of a likely presidential bid of his own, told Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith that he believed Clinton was breaking the law by using a private server rather than the State Departments email system.

The law cant be different for different people, said the Kentucky Republican.

[T]heres a certain arrogance and hypocrisy thats going to be difficult for her to overcome. I think you have to obey the law. I obey a lot of laws I dont agree with, Paul said.

Clinton has since turned over tens of thousands of pages of emails to the State Department, but has also indicated that she deleted any emails she deemed private.

Asked whether or not he uses a private email address for professional messages, Paul chose not to answer.

Were not under the same rules, he said, referring to fact that federal open-records laws do not apply to Congress. Were not required to do anything under government email. The executive department is under different standards.

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Rand Paul's advice for 2016: 'Don't use your private emails'