Millennials are going to be seeing a lot more of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — for 10 seconds or less that is — as the Tea Party darling announced he would be joining the uber-popular Snapchat.
Paul went public with his decision to join to the burgeoning social networking platform Wednesday morning. Taking to his campaign Facebook page, the Kentucky senator wrote his new followers can expect to receive daily updates and behind-the-scenes footage.
And Paul didn’t disappoint.
Operating under the handle SenatorRandPaul, the 2016 hopeful sent out his first message — a short video — via the disappearing-photo app Wednesday afternoon, thanking his Snapchat fans for following him.
Paul told The Blaze’s “Real News” his decision to join Snapchat was “tongue-in-cheek.” But, he said, it also served to raise awareness of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs and the constitutional issues they present.
“I’m going to let you in on a secret. When I chat with people, I want it to disappear and I don’t want the NSA looking at my chats,” Paul said. “So I thought, what better way to have my chats disappear than to join Snapchat.”
The 2016 hopeful, who has been steadfast in his opposition of the NSA’s surveillance programs, said he understood the agency has the ability to hack into Snapchat’s servers, thus giving them access to the photos and videos shared through the app. And this, Paul said, is the core issue.
“You’re not completely protected,” he said. “…Some of this is tongue-in-cheek and lighthearted. But some of it has a more serious purpose and that is to bring up the discussion of privacy. But I think also that really, there should be an expectation of privacy.”
The social networking platform, which allows users to send photos and videos for 10 seconds or less, has approximately 26 million users. Many companies have taken to the medium, including Acura and Taco Bell. Sports teams have also gotten in on the action, with the New York Jets and New Orleans Saints operating accounts.
The social networking platform has quickly become one of the most popular among Millennials, with 26 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds who have cell phones using the app. Snapchat’s 20-something founders turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook in November.
