When I commented at the opening of my phone call with Senator Amy Klobuchar that things were “getting interesting” in the realm of tech regulation, she responded as if I’d just uttered an understatement the size of a Facebook server farm.
The testimony of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen appears to have changed the politics of tech regulation within Congress, causing a coalescence of ideas on what Congress should—or can—do. Haugen shared documents with the SEC that she charged showed, among other things, that Facebook knew its Instagram service was harming adolescent girls’ well-being, yet did little to stop it. (Facebook disputes that assessment.)
Reigning in Big Tech has become the rare issue in the capital that isn’t quickly derailed by spasms of hyper-partisanship. Protecting kids also has this effect, making Haugen’s revelations even more powerful. Tech regulation is resonant with constituents, too, and yet Congressional hearings have become less about sassy…
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Source : fastcompany.com
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