A newsletter briefing on the intersection of technology and politics.
A newsletter briefing on the intersection of technology and politics.
Happy Monday! Here’s some free advice: If you’re a billionaire tech executive looking to galvanize support in Congress for higher taxes on billionaire tech executives, publicly disrespecting the chair of the Senate Finance Committee is a good way to start.
Below: A big broadband funding boost is headed to President Biden’s desk and another major antitrust proposal has dropped. But first:
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testifies before European Union leaders on Monday at a session that could aid those policymakers as they put the finishing touches on two massive proposals to rein in the power of technology giants.
That’s a dramatically different dynamic from her appearance on Capitol Hill last month.
While U.S. lawmakers say Haugen’s recent disclosures could jumpstart efforts to pass new digital regulations, E.U. officials are already well on their way to imposing new rules that require companies to crack down on illegal content and disclose more internal data, which Haugen has called for.
Those regulations, part of the European Commission’s landmark Digital Services Act, are not yet final, and Haugen’s views on how to hold platforms accountable for amplifying harmful content and how to force them to be more transparent could shape the final product.
The former Facebook product manager made those issues central to her recommendations to the Senate Commerce Committee during her first public hearing last month, and the session on Monday is expected to delve into those areas in more detail.
“A critical starting point for effective regulation is transparency: full access to data for research not directed by Facebook,” Haugen said in her previous written testimony. “On this foundation, we can build sensible rules and standards to address consumer harms, illegal content, data protection, anticompetitive practices, algorithmic systems and more.”
On the role of algorithms, Haugen said at the hearing that companies like Facebook “should not get a free pass on choices it makes to prioritize growth and virality and reactiveness over public safety.”
Cristian-Silviu Bușoi, one of the European Parliament members who will hear from Haugen on Monday, said Thursday he expects the session to be “quite useful” for policymakers, particularly as they polish language around what information platforms should be required to disclose to external researchers and to European regulators.
Companies have historically tightly guarded information about how their algorithms work and interact with users, citing concerns over privacy and proprietary data. Bușoi, a member of Romania’s center-right National Liberal Party, said he shares the concerns.
“We need to have a balanced approach of course, not to jeopardize [competitiveness], not to put unnecessary burdens, not to go very deep into the activity of the companies,” he said. “But still, some rules should be applied, some transparency should exist, some responsibility should be enforced.”
Unveiled in December, the draft version of the Digital Services Act requires large platforms to lift the hood on how their algorithms are used for content moderation and to be subject to independent audits of their practices, including how they police illegal activity.
Bușoi said he expects the “core” of the Digital Services Act to remain intact “with some improvements,” but he also cautioned that proposals can “change dramatically” as they make their way through the E.U.’s massive legislative body. Bușoi chairs Parliament’s committee on Industry, Research and Energy, one of several that will partake in the hearing.
The European Union is also finalizing another proposal, the Digital Markets Act, that focuses more directly on concerns about competition online and the so-called gatekeeping power of major platforms such as Facebook, Google and Amazon. But the session Monday is explicitly focused on the Digital Services Act, which zeros in on issues around content moderation.
Haugen hasn’t spoken extensively about digital competition issues, but she has rejected calls to break up Facebook, remarks that drew the ire of some liberal tech critics.
The stakes are high for European officials as they finalize their twin proposals, which they hope will cement their status as world leaders on tech regulation.
“This legislation is Europe’s chance to shape the digital economy at the EU level as well as to become a global standard-setter on digital regulation,” the committee holding the hearing wrote in its news release for the session.
The $1.2 trillion bill now goes to President Biden’s desk for his signature, Tony Romm, Marianna Sotomayor and Mike DeBonis report. It passed the House with the support of most Democrats and 13 Republicans.
“The infrastructure proposal, nearly half of which constitutes new spending, marks one of the most significant investments in the country’s infrastructure since Congress responded to the Great Recession,” my colleagues write.
Around $42 billion — the majority of the broadband funding in the bill — would go toward a program dispensing grants to “bridge the digital divide” at the state level.
About $14 billion in the bill would fund a $30-per-month broadband subsidy for low-income Americans under the auspices of the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Under the proposal, tech companies would have the burden of showing that deals are good for competition, Cat Zakrzewski reports. That burden currently lies with regulators, who have to prove that deals are uncompetitive to block them.
It’s the latest in a flurry of proposals designed to rein in the power of major technology companies. The House Judiciary Committee has already approved a similar bill, sending it to the full House. But it’s not clear whether either bill has enough support from Democrats and Republicans to pass.
The Senate bill was introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). Major tech industry groups such as NetChoice and TechNet have already come out against it.
Central Asian countries have been testing the lengths they can go to restrict Internet freedoms, Isabelle Khurshudyan reports. They’re following cues from China, a major investor in the region, and traditional ally Russia.
“Like Moscow — as its own censorship efforts are ramping up — the Central Asian countries are having to tread carefully for fear of public backlash,” Isabelle writes. “Russia has routinely fined tech giants for refusing to remove what the country has branded banned content, but officials have so far been hesitant to fully blacklist popular networks such as YouTube.”
For about an hour last week, Uzbek authorities blocked Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other platforms over a new law demanding that they store data in the country. Authorities backtracked after social media outrage ensued.
A majority of the more than 3.5 million Twitter users who voted in Tesla CEO Elon Musk‘s poll decided that he should sell 10 percent of his shares in the company. Ally Energy CEO Katie Mehnert:
Television writer, producer and actor Michael Schur:
Even Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, weighed in:
Russia fines Google again over banned content (Reuters)
Delays, distracted jurors and disappointed investors: The Elizabeth Holmes trial so far (Rachel Lerman)
Tesla’s recent Full Self-Driving update made cars go haywire. It may be the excuse regulators needed. (Faiz Siddiqui)
Chip Shortage Creates New Power Players (New York Times)
These parents built a school app. Then the city called the cops. (Wired)
That’s all for today — thank you so much for joining us! Make sure to tell others to subscribe to The Technology 202 here. Get in touch with tips, feedback or greetings on Twitter or email.
The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning.
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
