WASHINGTON – The White House on Thursday called on two powerful Washington lawmakers to work together to limit how “big tech” companies collect and use data about Americans. Year.
Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell and Spokane Republican Rep. Kathy McMorris Rogers lead committees in their respective houses that regulate tech companies. Two lawmakers disagree after supporting competing proposals to limit social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, President Joe Biden called for “collecting, sharing, and exploiting our most personal data to deepen our country’s extremism and polarization, and to change the playing field in our economy.” It inclines, violates the civil rights of women and minorities, and even puts children at risk.”
“Big tech companies collect vast amounts of data about what we buy, the websites we visit, the places we go, and most annoyingly, our children.” We must take responsibility for social media companies’ experiments that benefit our children.”
McMorris Rogers and his Democratic counterpart on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, backed a broad package of reforms that nearly unanimously cleared the panel last July by a 53-2 vote. Cantwell criticized the bipartisan bill as “weak” and supported another bill that McMorris Rodgers claims is aimed at protecting children’s online safety.
In a twist that defies typical partisan divisions and shows how difficult it is to put guardrails in the digital world, some civil rights groups and progressive advocacy groups have backed bipartisan legislation, Cantwell urged them in July to accuse them of being “invaded by people” — trying to force them into supporting weak legislation. Meanwhile, some of these same groups say the Cantwell-backed Kids Online Safety Act would give the government too much control over Americans’ online lives.
In a statement Thursday, Cantwell acknowledged the efforts the Federal Trade Commission and individual states have made to protect data privacy in lieu of federal law, but noted that disagreements over regulation remain. I hinted.
“We appreciate President Biden’s continued partnership on tech regulation and the work the FTC and many states are already doing to protect consumers,” she said. “Congress must pass strong rules to protect children and adults online and have strong enforcement to ensure they are followed. We will continue to advocate for strong privacy rights in reasonable standards and meaningful enforcement mechanisms.”
McMorris Rogers welcomed Biden’s message on Wednesday, calling for social media companies to curtail speech moderation on their platforms.
“President Biden is correct in acknowledging the risks Big Tech poses to Americans,” she said in a statement. “Rather than unilaterally seek to address these harms through administrative action and distortions of authority, the Administration will work with Congress to create a comprehensive framework through one national privacy standard that protects all Americans, especially children. We need to enact reasonable privacy protections.”
At a White House press conference on Thursday, spokeswoman Carine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration was “encouraged to see continued bipartisan cooperation” among lawmakers in Washington.
“Democrats and Republicans must unite to pass serious federal protections for Americans’ privacy, including the strongest possible protections for minors,” Jean-Pierre asked in a spokesman review. “We welcome the partnerships of Senator Cantwell, Speaker McMorris Rodgers, Congressman Pallone and others to bring to the President’s desk a bipartisan product that protects our privacy and protects the privacy of our children as well.” We welcome that, and we believe this is a serious and important issue.”
A White House spokeswoman declined to say that Biden would address one of the main issues in the negotiations: the extent to which federal data privacy standards supersede state laws. In addition to Cantwell, a handful of California Democrats criticized the House bill for preempting tougher legislation approved by state voters in 2020.
In the absence of congressional action to hold technology companies accountable for their impact on users, some privacy advocates have taken to court. YouTube and Snapchat have sued the companies behind them for using their products to harm children.
With the government split after Republicans took control of the House in the 2022 election, regulation of tech companies could be one of those rare projects where both Democrats and Republicans can get behind.
“I look forward to working with both parties and both chambers to enact legislation on privacy and other technologies,” Jean-Pierre said Thursday. “Privacy is important for Americans across the country, but we must also remember our children.”
