Consumer Protection, Antitrust, Removal Of Liability Protections Are In-Play
October 16, 2021—As the pressure grows to regulate the social media industry, lawmakers are drafting numerous bills that would impact social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter and their users.
This comes in the wake of revelations made by an ex-Facebook employee turned whistleblower, Frances Haugen, at a Senate Commerce Subcommittee hearing.
Committee members and their staff are exploring consumer protection issues involved with large internet platforms
Already, senators have referred nearly a dozen bills to the full committee for review. About half of those focus on protecting consumers and their information. Other bills would amend and in some cases repeal liability protections for social media platforms.
The industry is ripe for reform. At last week’s hearing, Senator Richard Blumenthal, the committee chair, said changes are imminent. “This research is the very definition of a bombshell. Facebook and Big Tech are facing a ‘big tobacco moment,'” he said. The senator also called for Mark Zuckerberg to testify before the committee, and for the Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Trade Commission to investigate the company.
Whistleblower Urges Accountability And Transparency
Haugen, who revealed herself as the whistleblower who provided documents on Facebook’s deepest secrets, called upon Congress to intervene and enforce stringent laws to protect the mental impacts of social media on young adults and children. She said the company puts profits first and engaging in practices that knowingly caused harm to its users.
After testifying to the Senate subcommittee in Washington D.C., Haugen has been making the rounds.
The data scientist plans to meet with Facebook’s oversight board as well as members of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Since July, a parliamentary joint committee has been working on draft legislation to regulate the industry. They are required to report their recommendations by December 10.
Stringent Proposals
The following is a detailed look at some bills the Senate committee is considering.
