Big Tech is a destructive force. It actively works against free speech on its platforms by silencing content it disagrees with. Meanwhile, these companies continue to manipulate, harm, and exploit children for profit, ignore parents, and refuse to publicly acknowledge how their platforms endanger children’s mental health and well-being. Big Tech isn’t transparent about how Americans’ personal information is being stored in and accessed by countries like China. Big Tech has betrayed our trust, which is why House Republicans established the Big Tech Task Force to develop proposals that hold these companies accountable.
A top priority for the Task Force is protecting free speech online. Free speech is a critical engine of progress in our society. It has led to ingenuity and innovation in everything from science to art and has been essential for entrepreneurial successes in every industry, including the tech industry. Yet Big Tech shut down this battle of ideas on its platforms. This was the case when Facebook and Twitter flagged and silenced the satirical website, the Babylon Bee. It was also the case when Big Tech suppressed legitimate debates and information about the potential COVID-19 lab leak, the New York Post’s Hunter Biden Laptop story, and, more recently, when these companies flagged posts — including from economists — disputing President Biden’s attempt to redefine an economic recession.
Big Tech is a destructive force. It actively works against free speech on its platforms by silencing content it disagrees with.
Big Tech should not be the arbiters of truth. Our Task Force has proposed solutions to hold these companies accountable for censoring Americans. To start, we’d narrow Section 230 protections, which Big Tech has exploited to justify its censorship, by removing ambiguity in the law so these companies can’t continue silencing constitutionally protected speech without consequence. We’d also require Big Tech companies to provide quarterly updates on its content moderation practices, and we’d sunset Section 230 protections after 5 years. This will increase Big Tech transparency and provide a timeline for Congress to reevaluate its liability protections if necessary. Finally, we’d strengthen users’ power to challenge censorship decisions by enabling people to petition state attorneys general and requiring Big Tech to improve its appeals process for users.
The Task Force is also developing solutions to address the harms Big Tech inflicts on children. According to recent research, 46% of all U.S. teens say they use the internet “almost constantly,” and 97% say they use the internet daily. This is hurting their mental health and has exposed them to harmful content like illegal drugs.
We’ve unveiled several solutions to equip parents with tools necessary to ensure their kids are safe online. These include the ability to monitor their kids’ use of social media, put time limits on use, and receive notifications about their childrens’ online activity. We’d also limit what data Big Tech can collect, share, and use about children, raise the age of children covered under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, require user-friendly processes for parents to reach out for help, and enable parents to hold Big Tech accountable when it knowingly facilitates illegal activity. Finally, we would require Big Tech to include warning labels about the risks and harms to kids using their products and services.
Our Task Force has proposed solutions to hold these companies accountable for censoring Americans.
Lastly, we would require Big Tech to be transparent about sharing Americans’ personal information with countries like China. We learned that TikTok is collecting sensitive information on millions of American users that the Chinese Communist Party may access. This is a major breach of trust. No one’s online information should be given to or stored in China secretly.
For years, Big Tech claimed it was a bastion of free speech that only used the information we gave them to enhance our experience on its platforms. We now know these companies were deceiving us to pad their bottom line and become more powerful. It’s time Congress holds Big Tech accountable for its abuse of power to censor Americans, harm our children, and not protect our personal information.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers represents the 5th District of Washington in the U.S. House of Representatives. She serves as the Republican Leader of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and is the Chair of the House GOP Big Tech Task Force.