Regulation on Massive Tech is coming quickly, says Klobuchar

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said the time to regulate big tech is now. And Republicans and Democrats are finally finding common ground for it.

Tom Williams-Pool / Getty Images)

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minn., Said Tuesday that the bipartisan legislation she and Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa introduced earlier this week would prevent internet companies from giving preference to their own products, sending a strong signal Send to companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook that regulation is in their power.

Klobuchar, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, and Grassley, senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the American Innovation and Choice Online Act on Monday. The bill, backed by more than half a dozen Democrats and Republicans, could have a huge impact on how these tech giants run their businesses.

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She said the broad bipartisan support for the legislation is an indication that regulation is imminent for big tech. She noted that the tech industry was likely “a little shocked” when it helped fund the bill, not just Senator Grassley, but other Republicans like Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Josh Hawley of Arkansas, and John Kennedy of Louisiana.

If passed, the law would prohibit dominant platforms from giving preference to their own product or service, a practice known as self-preference. It would also prevent these companies from discriminating against smaller competitors who use their platforms in an anticompetitive manner.

“What I want to do with the law is pursue this exclusionary behavior that I find outrageous,” she said at the WSJ Tech Live conference. “These are common sense reforms.”

The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee passed a similar law earlier this year.

The bill is the latest in a series of bills that Republicans and Democrats have enacted to combat the overwhelming influence of big tech giants on American life. It also follows the Senate testimony of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who leaked thousands of internal documents about the company, alleging Facebook disregarded its own internal investigations showing how harmful its Instagram app is to teenagers -Girl is. Facebook disagrees, saying research shows that many teenagers benefit from its app.

In her testimony, Haugen called on lawmakers to take steps to address the increasingly destructive role of the company in society. Klobuchar said these disclosures, and the concerns parents have about their children on social media, are fueling legislative efforts to protect children online.

While many on Capitol Hill, including Klobuchar, say it is time to regulate big tech companies, there was less consensus on how to do it. As a result, several laws have stalled. A consensus is now being formed on a number of issues, said Klobuchar.

Legislators of both parties are considering a full waiver of liability protection known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 rather than a narrowly focused update of the law, she said.

“The longer the time goes by,” she said. “I’m not the only one wondering if we shouldn’t just have the tight changes.” Instead, she said Congress was considering more ambitious laws.

Klobuchar said tech giants should take note of the growing support and momentum from the two parties.

“This is our big year,” she said. “This is not just about big corporations versus big corporations, these are real people and this is where our democracy is at stake.”

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