President Joe Biden asked for Democrats and Republicans to cooperate in order to hold Big Tech accountable.
Biden pushed for Congress to cooperate in enacting laws limiting Big Tech in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. The article was published as the House Republican majority prepares to investigate Silicon Valley over allegations of censorship and as the Supreme Court prepares for two cases with major implications for speech online.
SUPREME COURT TO HEAR MAJOR BIG TECH CASES THAT COULD RESHAPE INTERNET REGULATIONS
“We’ve heard a lot of talk about creating committees. It’s time to walk the walk and get something done,” Biden wrote. “There will be many policy issues we disagree on in the new Congress, but bipartisan proposals to protect our privacy and our children; to prevent discrimination, sexual exploitation, and cyberstalking; and to tackle anticompetitive conduct shouldn’t separate us.”
Biden laid out three items that he wanted Congress to cooperate on. First, he called for “serious federal protections for Americans’ privacy,” including clear limits on what data are allowed. He called for Big Tech companies to take responsibility for their algorithms as well as a reformed Section 230, a law that protects platforms from being held liable for what is posted by users. Finally, Biden called for more competition in the tech industry so that small businesses “can compete on a level playing field.”
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Lawmakers such as Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) pushed for antitrust and privacy-oriented legislation in the last session of Congress but failed to get any of the bills onto the floor for a vote.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next month in two cases that could affect Section 230 and the limits on what is allowed to be posted online or shared via algorithms.
