Our working definition of a digital platform (with a hat tip to Harold Feld of Public Knowledge) is an online service that operates as a two-sided or multi-sided market with at least one side that is “open” to the mass market
Platforms
House Commerce Committee Advances Bills
In a Full Committee markup, the House Commerce Committee advanced six bills including:
Rep. Guthrie Introduces Bill to Deplatform Drug Dealers
Congressman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) introduced the Deplatform Drug Dealers Act, which will amend Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 to remove liability protections for online platforms relating to illegal sales of controlled substances on their sites. Section 230 of the updated Communications Decency Act protects technology companies from being held liable for any content someone else has posted on their site.
Rep. McClain Introduces ACES Act
Congresswoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) introduced the Anti-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Espionage via Social Media (ACES) to counter the national security threat posed by the Chinese platform TikTok. This bill forces TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to divest all its assets in America. This bill:
Sen. Warner, Colleagues Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Encourage Competition in Social Media
US Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) led a bipartisan group of colleagues in reintroducing the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (ACCESS) Act, legislation that would encourage market-based competition with major social media platforms by requiring the largest companies make user data portable – and their services interoperable – with other platforms, and to allow users to designate a trusted third-party service to manage their privacy and account settings. The Act would increase market competition, encourage innovation, and increase consumer choice by requiring
Rep. Schakowsky, Rep. Castor Introduce Legislation to Hold Online Platforms Accountable
Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Kathy Castor (D-FL) reintroduced the Online Consumer Protection Act (OCPA). This legislation addresses the shortcomings of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which, along with overly broad court rulings on it, have failed to hold online platforms accountable to consumers. Specifically, the OCPA would:
Sen. Markey, Rep. Eshoo Reintroduce the CVTA to Make Communication Technologies Accessible for Americans with Disabilities
Senator Edward Markey (D-MA), author of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), and Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA) reintroduced the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility (CVTA) Act.
Internet referral programs are in urgent need of reform
The US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana barred certain government agencies from working with social media companies for “the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.” The injunction seems to threaten the myriad of government programs—including those in the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the St
Biden-Harris Administration Secures Voluntary Commitments from Leading Artificial Intelligence Companies to Manage the Risks Posed by AI
Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI are committing to:
Sen Markey and Rep Matsui Reintroduce the Algorithmic Justice and Online Platform Transparency Act
Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) and Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA) reintroduced their Algorithmic Justice and Online Platform Transparency Act. Specifically, the Algorithmic Justice and Online Platform Transparency Act would:
FTC Chair Faces Criticism in Congressional Hearing
Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, faced more than three hours of criticism and ridicule from Republicans in a House hearing, as emboldened critics increasingly put pressure on the agency for its crackdown on the growing power of tech giants. During the highly partisan hearing, Republicans accused Chair Khan, who has carried out an aggressive agenda of lawsuits and investigations against tech companies, of “harassing” businesses.