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NATO Formally Invites Finland and Sweden to Join Alliance; Interview with Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA): Introduced a Bill Protecting Women's Data Privacy After Roe Overturned; Seized Beach Property Returned to Black Family 98 Years Later. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired June 29, 2022 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: New today, a criminal court in Paris just convicted and sentenced the main suspect in a 2015 Paris terror attack, which included the Bataclan theater and national football stadium. Salah Abeslam who is believed to be the only surviving member of the attackers, was found guilty today on all five charges. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: The 32-year-old began his trial by proudly stating he was a soldier of the Islamic state. 130 people were killed in the rampage making it the worst terror attack in France's history.

BLACKWELL: A landmark announcement today, NATO formally invited Sweden and Finland to join the Alliance, and President Biden announced that the U.S. will strengthen its military posture in Europe.

CAMEROTA: These moves directly undercut President Putin's objectives in the region as he pushes ahead with his brutal war on Ukraine. Let's bring in Evelyn Farkas, she's the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, and the executive director of the McCain Institute Evelyn, great to see you. So, the fact that Turkey dropped its objection to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, what's the significance?

EVELYN FARKAS, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR RUSSIA, UKRAINE AND EURASIA: Well, Alisyn, this is huge. I won't say it was entirely unexpected, but it probably required a lot of behind the scenes diplomacy from President Biden and of course many other NATO members in order to convince Turkey to accept the concessions that Sweden and Finland were willing to make. Essentially it boils down to Kurdish, you know, Turkish Kurds who are living in Sweden and Finland, and Turkey his concern about their activities. And so, a compromise was hammered out, and it's not surprising because frankly it's in Turkey's interest that the entire alliance remains solidified and strengthened against Russia, and this is not a moment to give Russia a victory.

[15:35:00]

BLACKWELL: So, what does this mean for increased pressure on Russia? The consequences that the West is creating against the country. FARKAS: Well, Victor, the military consequences are pretty

significant. I mean, Finland and Russia share an 830 mile border. That's a lot more border now , NATO border, that Russia has to worry about. Right there in the immediate vicinity. In addition to that, Sweden is strategically very significant. They, essentially the government of Sweden controls access, entry and exit to the Baltic Sea, which is significant for all of NATO, and all the NATO members who have Baltic Sea interests there or border the Baltic Sea.

So, it's militarily significant, politically it's absolutely a signal to Vladimir Putin that this latest wave of aggression, this latest war that he's waged against Ukraine and, indeed, the international community because it includes the global food scarcity that has been an outcome of their aggression because of the blockade of Ukraine. All of this has resulted in Russia actually being weaker in terms of facing NATO militarily and politically. So, it's a political loss for Vladimir Putin. Rightfully earned because of his aggression.

CAMEROTA: And what about Ukraine joining NATO? I mean, here again today, President Zelenskyy implored the members of NATO, and he used the argument, has Ukraine not paid enough, what's the answer to that?

FARKAS: The answer, Alisyn, is of course Ukraine has paid more than enough. They do have a process for gaining membership. I think at this stage of the game for NATO, for whatever reason it was too much. And again, they do have certain things that you have to do in order to actually be qualified to join. And it has a lot to do with the state of your democracy, the state of your armed forces.

I think what Ukraine really needs, though, is a military guarantee, and I think that NATO came very far in that. Of course, there's no Article 5 commitment to NATO, but what you did hear the NATO secretary general say is that we will remain behind Ukraine. We're not abandoning Ukraine. And that's, you know, that's really what they want. And the military assistance is coming, it's ramped up. Of course, some of it is also aimed towards deterring Russia, knowing that they have a beefed-up military now on their border.

The most significant thing -- if I could add one thing quickly -- is the fact that we, the United States, we're now positioning forces in Poland permanently. That is actually a sign that things have radically changed from when we agreed, NATO agreed in 1997 to the Russians that we wouldn't permanently post significant military forces, NATO forces in the eastern part of NATO, so we're essentially -- NATO is essentially saying that Russia is no longer a partner, and they also put that language in their new strategic concept, which is to say, again, the strategy. Russia's not a partner. It's an adversary.

BLACKWELL: Yes, important element of the president's announcement today of the U.S. military strengthening in the region. Evelyn Farkas, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Now to this, internet searches for abortion medication soared after the Supreme Court's draft to overturn Roe v. Wade leaked. So next we'll speak to a lawmaker who's work to go keep women's digital health data private. [15:40:00]

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CAMEROTA: Internet searches on abortion pills surged 162 percent after the draft of the Supreme Court decision was leaked in May. That's according to JAMA. And now that Roe has been overturned, data privacy experts are concerned that those types of searches could be used against women.

Democratic Congresswoman Sara Jacobs has just introduced legislation aimed at protecting our reproductive health data. Congresswoman, thank you very much for being here. Can you just explain this? I mean, give us a real-world example of how all of our private health data could come back to haunt us, how it could be used against us.

REP. SARA JACOBS (D-CA): Yes, absolutely. Well, you know as a young woman myself, I use a period tracking app, so let's use that as an example. My period tracking app tells me when I'm supposed to be getting my period and when I'm not. And so, you can use that data to see when I am supposed to be pregnant or aren't, and a state Attorney General, local law enforcement could use (INAUDIBLE) that against me -- and not only about me personally, they can take everyone's data and create mass surveillance architecture to be able to track people who are traveling out of state. Who should be pregnant but aren't? Searching, as you said for abortion pills or clinics or how to get to California, for instance (INAUDIBLE).

Right now, there are no protections from how that data could be used by law enforcement at the state or local level or by nonprofit groups, like local right-wing nonprofits, small right wing nonprofit groups who could be buying or getting that data in order to, you know, be able to take part in the bounty law that's part of the Texas antiabortion legislation.

CAMEROTA: I mean, Congresswoman, this sounds so big brother, it sounds so hand maiden's tale, it's just, you know, dystopian what you're describing.

[15:45:00]

And so, you're saying that your -- you believe that tech platforms would hand over information like that to, you know, some sheriff who came calling.

JACOBS: Well, right now there's no federal prohibition from them doing so. So, we know that there are a lot of companies who are saying that they wouldn't, that they are trying to do what they can to protect data. But it shouldn't be up to the goodwill of individual companies. This is some of our most sensitive data, our reproductive and sexual health data, and it's our job as a government to put in place protections at the highest level for that very sensitive data.

CAMEROTA: What about what we were just talking about, which is the so- called abortion pills, and there have been, you know, the searches for those have been proliferating ever since that draft was released. Can you imagine a scenario where law enforcement demands someone's search history?

JACOBS: Absolutely. Right now, they don't even have to demand it. Of course, they could get a subpoena, a court order, a warrant, but they can also just buy it on the open market.

CAMEROTA: Meaning what? I mean, just walk us through how that works, and how your legislation would stop that.

JACOBS: Yes, so right now all of your data that you use from apps from web sites, any data that you generate, there's no prohibition on what can be collected or stored, and there's no prohibition on how it can shared or sold. So, we know that this data is being sold by data brokers directly, by companies. Many of these apps and web sites and services, their business model is that they don't charge you anything but then they use your data and sell it so people can add more targeted advertising, and that's how they make revenue.

So, what my bill would do is that it would say for anything related to reproductive or sexual health data, so not only about abortion, about fertility tracking, about, you know, if you were Google searching about gonorrhea, all of that would be protected. And the companies could only collect and retain what is strictly necessary for what they need to provide their service. They would not be allowed to sell it at all. They would only be allowed to share it with your express written consent. You have a right to ask for any of your data to be deleted.

And if you believe that the FTC is not adequately enforcing this because, for instance, there could be a Republican president in charge of the FTC who we know would not necessarily faithfully enforce this, you have a private right of action to sue the companies if you believe your data can be misused.

Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, thank you very much for explaining all of that. Really interesting.

BLACKWELL: All right. I'll take it.

CAMEROTA: Oh, you can take it. That would be great.

BLACKWELL: Los Angeles attempts to write an historic wrong as the prime beach front property you see here is returned to its rightful owners after nearly 100 years. That's next.

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CAMEROTA: Nearly 100 years after it was seized, a prime stretch of Southern California beachfront property will be returned to the descendants of its rightful owners.

Bruce's beach was originally owned by a black Los Angeles area family. As CNN's Stephanie Elam joins us with more on this historic reversal. Stephanie, what do you know?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is definitely historic, Victor and Alisyn. This is the first time in Los Angeles County's history, they say, that they're returning property that was owned by black people and snatched away from them and returning it to their heirs.

And what we can tell you here about Bruce's beach, this was property that Charles and Willa Bruce bought in 1912 for $1,225 for a parcel of land, and then they ended up getting another parcel they bought right next to it. Those two pieces of property that had were right on front -- in front of the ocean, and they built a business there called Bruce's Beach where they were able to invite black people from all over to come and enjoy a beach.

Remember, black people couldn't go everywhere in the '20s to enjoy the beach, in the early part of the 1900s as well. So, this was a thriving business that they had, but there were some white people around who did not like that this business existed and that they were doing so well. So, in 1924, the city of Manhattan Beach seized the property under eminent domain. And just think about what that did to the generational wealth that was obliterated from the Bruce family. Take a listen to Chief Duane "Yellow Feather" Shepard who is a family member, a cousin of the direct heirs and also a family spokesperson talk to that exact point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF DUANE "YELLOW FEATHER" SHEPARD, BRUCE FAMILY SPOKESMAN: And so first of all, the loss of the generational wealth that would have been accumulated over the course of 98 years now. And just the idea of all of the terror that is still in our hearts regarding these criminal acts that were perpetrated against innocent people of our family. You know, it's very important for people to understand as well, more so than the money that was lost, it's our hearts that were lost. We lost our family to this. Charles and Willa Bruce died essentially five years later, five to seven years later, after all of this happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: Now, the Los Angeles County Board Of Supervisors voted unanimously yesterday to return the property to the Bruce family. The great, great grandchildren of Charles and Willa Bruce. And for the immediate future, the county will lease back the property because there's a lifeguard training facility there on the property for now, they'll lease it back for $413,000 a year.

[15:55:00]

But this is the first time that you have seen something like this, Victor and Alisyn, where the property is going back to the rightful owners.

CAMEROTA: And that property is now worth $20 million. Stephanie Elam, thank you very much for that important story.

BLACKWELL: All right, more fallout from the stunning testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson. We are live on Capitol Hill just ahead.

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CAMEROTA: We have some breaking taco news.

BLACKWELL: Give it to me.

[16:00:00]

CAMEROTA: Taco Bell is testing two new menu items at a restaurant in California.

BLACKWELL: I'm so excited about this. Massive Cheez-It 16 times the standard size slipped into these things. So, I don't eat at Taco Bell, but 4 by 4 for a Cheez-It, anything is possible.

CAMEROTA: Now you will be eating at Taco Bell.

BLACKWELL: I mean, they might get me. Goldfish, your ball. You're up next. Do something.

CAMEROTA: I can't tell if it's gross or awesome, but --

BLACKWELL: "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.