The Superbowl of Political Inaction
Internet Platform's Annual Congressional Showdown
The internet platform CEOs' annual congressional showdown is becoming a national sport, the Superbowl of political inaction. Yesterday the heads of Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord, and X (formerly Twitter) joined the Senate Judiciary Committee for almost four hours. ‘You Have Blood on Your Hands’ cries the headline in the Wall Street Journal. ‘Your Product Is Killing People’ quotes the New York Times.
Senators’ histrionics aside, we cannot continue to watch this yearly spectacle without acting. Last year, the debate was driven by terrorist acts. The topic du jour is Child Safety, sexual exploitation, and the mental health crisis, including suicides - a real tragedy. Inaction and an unresponsive government erode trust in our democratic institutions.
We know how we got here, driven by the business model of the current data and attention-driven economy. So, what to do?
Make platforms liable in the most egregious situations by explicitly carving out terrorism and Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) from their liability shield.
Enact privacy legislation.
Continue to protect our economy by supporting encryption.
Invest in digital literacy and future generations.
I wanted to make this a brief note; however, I hope you will have a chance to review some of the material in the links. The detailed recipe of what to do and why. Additionally, check here for the full video coverage of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the failures of Big Tech to protect kids from sexual exploitation online on January 31, 2024.
If there is bipartisan consternation, now let’s have bipartisan action!