Big Tech and Congress are still at odds over who will control the internet speech of Americans. The new bill, which is bipartisan in Congress, would enable users to use social media sites without any algorithms.
The “Filter Bubble Transparency Act,” shared exclusively with Axios, aims to “require that internet platforms give users the option to engage with a platform without being manipulated by algorithms driven by user-specific data.” The House bill is sponsored by Reps. Ken Buck (R-CO), Lori Trahan (D-MA), Burgess Owens, (R-UT), and David Cicilline (D-RI). John Thune, R-SD is the sponsor of the Senate bill. Axios reports that both bills are supported by bipartisans. It aims to provide a new social media environment in which content selections will not be algorithmically controlled.
Axios raised concerns about social media targeting conservatives. The outlet also cited arguments that “algorithms that personalize content on social networks and other apps can make services addictive, violate users’ privacy and promote extremism.”
Filter Bubble Transparency is the latest in a long line of Congressional measures to improve government regulation of Big Tech. The bipartisan Senate “Platform Competition and Opportunity Act of 2021” aims to limit Big Tech companies’ anticompetitive acquisitions. Axios reports that Democrats in the House Energy and Commerce Committee already introduced legislation to end content liability protection on larger online platforms, whose algorithmic ranking provided users with content likely to cause harm. Six antitrust bills have been passed in June by Cicilline and Buck, both members of the House Judiciary.
Buck and Cicilline proposed the bill in a way that would directly assist social media users. “Consumers should have the option to engage with internet platforms without being manipulated by secret algorithms driven by user-specific data,” Buck said, according to Axios. Cicilline reportedly added, “Facebook and other dominant platforms manipulate their users through opaque algorithms that prioritize growth and profit over everything else. And due to these platforms’ monopoly power and dominance, users are stuck with few alternatives to this exploitative business model.”
Testimony from Facebook “whistleblower” Frances HaugenThe global trend has led to legislation, and not only in America. Accordingly to the United Kingdom, a new bill will increase the censorship incentives for social media businesses. European Union (EU) officials are using the Facebook revelations as an excuse “to accelerate and sharpen their plans to impose sweeping new restrictions on big technology companies,” according to The Wall Street Journal
Conservatives under attackGet in touch with your representatives. Tell your representative to demand Big Tech is held accountable to the First Amendment and provide equal treatment for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s Contact formPlease help us make Big Tech more accountable.
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