Senate Committee Eyes Big Moves on Tech in Fall Session

As Congress returns from August recess, some in the Senate are pushing for an ambitious slate of measures relating to regulation of social media and other online matters.  The Senate would also address TikTok and other widely used but foreign owned apps, kids' social media use, online privacy, and more.

Why It Matters

States are already taking steps to curb children's use of social media and to regulate online privacy.  If the federal government wishes to be a standard-setter, it would do well to act before momentum takes hold at the state level.  It has probably already ceded online privacy to state efforts: even if Congress can get agreement on a national privacy bill, it probably will have to take account of existing state measures in order to pass.  If the Senate really wants to take on foreign tech, children's use of social media, and other cutting-edge issues, it probably has a rather limited window of time.  If Congress cannot act, we are likely (especially on children's issues) to see states move forward just as they have done in the privacy arena, meaning that there will be yet another patchwork of regulations that companies must reconcile.