What’s at stake for Silicon Valley in Democrats’ social spending showdown

Congress will reconvene in mid-November to discuss Democratic lawmakers’ massive social spending proposal, the Build Back Better Act, which is poised to provide a historic funding boost to regulators who police the technology sector for privacy, competition and consumer protection abuses, among other key initiatives. Key provisions in the latest version of the bill aim to:

• Give the Federal Trade Commission half a billion dollars through 2029 to create a new bureau to enforce against “unfair or deceptive acts or practices relating to privacy, data security, identity theft, data abuses, and related matters.”

• Grant the FTC the power to fine companies the first time they engage in unfair or deceptive practices, including regarding their data privacy or security practices.

• Unclog the federal government’s backlog of employment-based green cards, which tech companies rely on to build out their workforces, through the reconciliation process.

• Allocate $500 billion to both the Justice Department and the FTC for antitrust enforcement.