Last October, on the day whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before her committee, Senator Amy Klobuchar said frankly that if depressed, summed up The impact of all Washington spending: “We are doing nothing to update America’s competition, privacy and technology laws,” she tweeted. “Nothing. Zilch. Why? Because every corner of the Capitol has lobbyists hired by techies.”
If you want to see the power of lobbying, check out Nominations Gigi Thorne for the Federal Communications Commission. While unquestionably qualified, Sohn’s focus has always been on consumer empowerment. She naturally makes enemies in the corporate world, especially the notoriously greedy telecommunications companies. wool customer. These benefits have been successful block her confirmation months. If she is not confirmed soon, the new Congress could kill her nomination for good. With Sohn’s nomination on hold, the committee is deadlocked with two Democrats and two Republicans.
at the same time, news reports A multi-million-dollar effort from special interest groups, including Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, is said to be targeting key states and vulnerable Democrats to withdraw support for the Klobuchar reform bill. The irony: The campaign spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Facebook and Google ads to underscore its point.
We’ve come a long way since the days when tech entrepreneurs wanted to avoid DC. Yes, they were naive back then. They arrogantly think they are special and can build their own businesses in disregard of the government. But their instinct to avoid the quagmire of American politics is admirable.Lawyers and lobbying may not fully address their DC problems – the consistent bad behavior of these companies makes it likely Some There will be sanctions. But those sanctions won’t be as harsh or effective as lawmakers, regulators, or even the public would like. A longtime Mountain staffer I spoke with this week summed up the tech interest and their DC activities: “They’re just like everyone else.” That’s no compliment.
time travel
The debate over regulating the Internet has raged since the mid-1990s boom in making the web accessible to the masses. Long before tech companies spent millions on lobbying, debates were very similar to the ones we experience now, especially when it comes to online speeches.Case in point: Senator James Exxon’s Communications Decency Act, a proposed amendment to the Telecommunications Act, which I wrote about in an article 1995 Weekly newspaper article. A stripped-down version of the amendment was incorporated into the 1996 Act — which includes the still-controversial Section 230.
Exon amendments are very broad. It may hinder communication between adults – the very nature of online activity – and may not even solve the problems children face. Jerry Berman, director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said: “It would be a mistake to drive us to an unconstitutional solution in a moment of hysteria that would make technology stupid and not even fulfill its mission. “
