Sen Blackburn in the Bay (Updated)

Sen Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has been leading private meetings in Washington with tech industry leaders and civil society groups as part of the Senate Judiciary tech task force inquiry into social media and internet companies. Now, she’s taking things on the road, planning a trip to Silicon Valley in the “near future,” aiming to look under the hood at the “backbone of some of these platforms and the way their algorithms are developed.” Sen Blackburn said the task force will likely look into concerns about anti-competitive behavior among tech giants “early next year,” though she said she’s already heard from Yelp about its grievances with Google’s search business. She said others who have spoken with the task force pushed for light-touch federal privacy regulations that can be augmented with industry-specific privacy laws, as well as a federal standard for notifying people when their digital data has been hacked.

Two House Commerce Committee subcommittees are planning a hearing on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act on Oct. 16, and Sen Blackburn thinks the Senate ought to follow suit. She said the time has come for a broader review of the 1996 law, which shields websites from liability over user content, to ensure it reflects the modern internet. But Sen Blackburn made clear she’s not ready to throw it out entirely. “We do not want to do away with it, and make it impossible for new entrants to come into compliance, or have it be something that keeps them from trying to enter the marketplace,” she said.

Updates:

10/1/2019: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) swung by Twitter headquarters in downtown San Francisco on Sept 30 for a meeting with Vijaya Gadde, global lead for legal, policy and trust, and other company officials, according to Twitter. Sen Blackburn, who has accused Twitter and other social media giants of stifling conservative viewpoints, “had a wide-ranging discussion on policy issues” with the group, a Twitter spokesperson said. Blackburn also toured NeighborNest, Twitter’s community center that offers skills training and other opportunities for local residents and groups. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-tech/2019/10/01/sanders-takes-on-techs-income-inequality-483832