As 2023 begins, legislators and advocates are calling for higher regulation of social media corporations. TikTok, particularly, has been the main target of scrutiny in latest months, with lawmakers expressing considerations concerning the app’s possession and information privateness. Consultant Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) even in contrast the app to “digital fentanyl” on NBC’s Meet the Press, stating that it’s “extremely addictive and damaging.”
“We’re seeing troubling information concerning the corrosive impression of fixed social media use, notably on younger women and men right here in America,” he stated.
Nonetheless, these considerations over TikTok will not be with out benefit. The app has confronted criticism over its dealing with of person information, and there are legitimate considerations that this information may doubtlessly fall into the palms of the Chinese language Communist Get together. Whereas TikTok has repeatedly acknowledged that its U.S. person information just isn’t primarily based in China, these assurances have carried out little to quell the considerations of legislators and the FBI. Because of this, Congress lately handed a bipartisan spending invoice that bans using TikTok on authorities units.
Nonetheless, TikTok just isn’t the one social media firm that may anticipate to face elevated regulation this yr. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) has acknowledged that she expects Congress to proceed its deal with tech corporations in 2023.
Fb Whistleblower Requires Algorithm Transparency
Fb whistleblower Frances Haugen has additionally weighed in on the talk, stating that regulators ought to push for higher transparency concerning the algorithms utilized by social media platforms like TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. On condition that these platforms all function utilizing comparable algorithms, Haugen believes that elevated transparency is a needed first step within the technique of regulating these corporations.
Haugen stated she thinks most individuals are unaware of how far behind the U.S. is on the subject of social media regulation. “That is like we’re again in 1965, we don’t have seatbelt legal guidelines but,” she advised on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
It stays to be seen what additional rules could also be carried out this yr, however social media corporations will proceed to be a magnet for lawmakers as they work to guard the information and privateness of U.S. residents