Congress has new ammunition against Big Tech, and the bipartisan sponsors of legislation to crack down on or break up Meta are using it to push passage of their Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).

In a statement early Friday (November 3), Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), lead sponsors of KOSA, cited allegations from whistleblower Arturo Bejar, former director of engineering at Facebook (now Meta), the owner of Instagram, which came in a story in The Wall Street Journal. The senators said the allegations were backed with “irrefutable evidence” that top Meta executives, including executive chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “were personally warned that millions of teens face bullying, eating disorder material, illicit drugs and sexual exploitation, often within minutes of opening the [Instagram] app,” but instead of addressing those “deadly” harms, they “hid that information from the public and congressional oversight, ignored recommendations to protect teens, rolled back safety tools, and dismantled teams responsible for kids’ safety.”

Bejar's allegations came in a Journal story about the Instagram safety executive, who said his warnings that the short-form video site’s approach to protecting teens wasn't working fell on deaf ears.

Blumenthal and Blackburn are the chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security Subcommittee.

Also Read: Blumenthal Says Facebook Weaponizes Childhood Suffering

Bejar's allegations come on top of those of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.

When Haugen testified to Congress a year ago, Blumenthal called it Facebook's "Big Tobacco" moment.

A former Facebook product manager and data scientist, Haugen took documents when she left the company that she said show its algorithms “amplify polarizing and hateful content” for the sake of profit — a motive partly responsible for “tearing societies apart” — and said the company had research showing that but obscured the fact that it is harmful.

Of Bejar’s latest revelations, Blumenthal and Blackburn said in a joint statement: “Facebook along with other tech giants have been fighting our legislation with armies of lobbyists, lawyers, and opposition campaigns, but the broad coalition of young people, parents and experts will win. It is time to say ‘enough is enough’ to Big Tech and pass the Kids Online Safety Act.”

Meta had not responded to a request for comment early Friday.

A bipartisan Senate duo looked this week to put a spotlight on legislation, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), that would crack down on Big Tech. They are trying to get the bill passed in the waning, lame-duck days of the current session of Congress.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security, met this week with young people and parents of young people they said had “died or were harmed” due to social media.

For example, one of the people they met with was the mother of a girl who died of fentanyl poisoning “from drugs she and a friend purchased from a dealer they used Facebook to find,” Blumenthal’s office said. He is co-sponsor of the bill.

Also: Kids Online Protection Bill Introduced

S. 3663, the Kids Online Safety Act, passed unanimously in the Senate Commerce Committee last July. It would attempt to protect children's online mental health, including addressing issues like body image, eating disorders, substance abuse, and suicide.

Blumenthal and Blackburn led hearings on issues surrounding social media and its impact on children.

The result was the bill, which:

1. “Requires that social media platforms provide minors with options to protect their information, disable addictive product features, and opt out of algorithmic recommendations. Platforms would be required to enable the strongest settings by default.
2. “Gives parents new controls to help support their children and identify harmful behaviors, and provides parents and children with a dedicated channel to report harms to kids to the platform.
3. “Creates a responsibility for social media platforms to prevent and mitigate harms to minors, such as promotion of self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and unlawful products for minors (e.g. gambling and alcohol).
4. “Requires social media platforms to perform an annual independent audit that assesses the risks to minors, their compliance with this legislation, and whether the platform is taking meaningful steps to prevent those harms.
5. “Provides academic and public interest organizations with access to critical datasets from social media platforms to foster research regarding harms to the safety and well-being of minors.”

Also: Blumenthal Says Facebook Weaponizes Childhood Suffering

“The [legislation] will hold social media companies accountable and establish a duty of care for protecting children online,” Parents Television & Media Council president Tim Winter said in July. ▪️

The Senate Judiciary Committee has overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan Open App Markets Act, according to its sponsors, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). The vote was 21-1 — with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) was the only nay — to favorably report the bill to a vote in the full Senate.

The legislation is billed by Blumenthal as “breaking Apple and Google’s ironclad grip on the multibillion-dollar app market,” including by stopping predatory fees on consumers and lowering barriers to rivals. Blackburn called it a response to market failure. She said she was not saying Big Tech is bad, but that it was clear that guard rails are now needed.

Defeated during the bill markup was an amendment offered by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) that would add language about Big Tech censorship of conservative political and religious voices. Blumenthal said the bill was not about political speech but about protecting consumers.

The explicit goal of the bill is to “reduce gatekeeper power in the app economy, increase choice, improve quality, and reduce costs for consumers.”

Reading like an app net neutrality rule for Apple and Google, the legislation would prevent a covered company from restricting the use of alternative in-app payment systems; or from favoring their own terms of distribution, pricing or conditions of sale; or penalize developers for using different pricing terms or conditions via another in-app payment system.

It prevents a Google or Apple, for example, from using info derived from a third-party app to compete with that same app.

In general, reads the bill, “a covered company shall not provide unequal treatment of apps in an app store through unreasonably referencing or ranking the apps of the covered company or any of its business partners over those of other apps.” The definition of “unreasonable referencing” includes algorithms that prioritize apps owned by the covered company or its partners but does not include “clearly disclosed” ads.

Violations would be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission since those violations will be considered unfair methods of competition, which the FTC has authority to police. In addition, any state attorney general can also bring a civil action based on a violation of the act and there is also a private right of action so that any developer can also sue, and get treble damages if they win.

The bill's co-sponsors include Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

Praising passage was Consumer Reports, which has pushed for the legislation.

“Senators on both sides of the political aisle agree it is time to address the stranglehold that Apple and Google have on our smartphones," said Sumit Sharma, senior researcher for tech competition at Consumer Reports. "The Open App Markets Act will allow consumers to get better deals by introducing competition in payment systems on smartphones, and it will enable app developers to freely inform consumers about these cheaper alternatives.” ■

The Consumer Technology Association said Tuesday (Dec. 21) that its upcoming CES 2022 in Las Vegas Jan. 5-8 will host a record number of Senators, and they will be showing up in person rather than remotely.

All attendees and participants in the show have to be fully vaccinated and CES is recommending testing for COVID-19 prior to leaving for Las Vegas and within 24 hours of entering a CES venue.

Discussing tech policy issues at a Friday, January 7, panel will be a mix of high-profile senators from both sides of the aisle: Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). The session will be led by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada).

Also from the other side of the aisle, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) will talk about universal, accessible and affordable high-speed internet on January 7.

They will be among more than 100 government officials, including a panel of governors featuring Govs. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas and Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and FCC commissioner Nathan Simington.

In addition to in-person attendance, CES is offering a digital-only option, though it points out that “nothing can quite recreate the excitement, connections and spontaneity the in person attendees will experience.” 

Future, parent company of Next TV, B+C and Multichannel News, publishes the official CES Daily. ■

Representatives from Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube have agreed to testify at an Oct. 26 Senate hearing, and they should probably come in flak jackets.

The hearing is the bipartisan handiwork of Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security chairman Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and ranking member Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), both of whom have been highly critical of edge provider practices.

Also Read: Big Tech-Targeted Senate Bill Introduced

“The bombshell reports about Facebook and Instagram — their toxic impacts on young users and lack of truth or transparency — raise serious concerns about Big Tech’s approach toward kids across the board,” said Blumenthal, who has been saying for a while that he wanted to get representatives from other platforms to testify before the committee.

The Oct. 26 hearing is the fourth in a series on the impact of the edge on children and young people.

“Big tech companies continue to prioritize profit over safety and, in doing so, are harming children online,” Blackburn said, going further than Blumenthal in hammering the upcoming witnesses by name. “TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube all play a leading role in exposing children to harmful content.”

Blumenthal has said he believes Big Tech is having a Big Tobacco moment, an observation that came following the revelations about Facebook's internal research findings that some young people found Instagram contributed to their depression and negative body image.

Also Read: ‘How to Stop Facebook’ Campaign Launched

Facebook, Instagram’s owner, has bought a lot of airtime in Washington for ads arguing for regulations on its content moderation, likely because it sees Washington is serious about regulating the platform. The social-media giant wants to head off the potential elimination of its immunity from civil liability for most third-party content on its sites under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen got an angry and attentive bipartisan audience at a Tuesday (Oct. 5) hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security, led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who called it a Big Tobacco moment for Big Tech.

A former Facebook product manager and data scientist, Haugen took documents when she left the company that she said show its algorithms “amplify polarizing and hateful content” for the sake of profit — a motive partly responsible for “tearing societies apart” — and that the company had research showing that but obscured the fact that it is harmful.

Haugen said Facebook was buying its profits with consumer safety and that it intentionally hides documents and repeatedly misleads the public. Until incentives change, she argued, the company won't.

Also Read: Sen. Blumenthal Says Facebook Weaponizes Childhood Suffering

She pointed out that the government took action to curb serious auto accidents (seat belt mandates), against tobacco and against opioid abuse, suggesting taking action now against Facebook was in the same category.

Blumenthal, the subcommittee’s chairman, called the company “morally bankrupt” and called on Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to come before the committee rather than taking a “nothing to see here” approach by “going sailing,” as he suggested Zuckerman had done.

He said if that misleading charge is true, the Federal Trade Commission needs to step in using its authority to pursue false and misleading information.

Also Read: Hill to Hear from Facebook Whistle Blower

Citing last week’s Facebook hearing witness, Antigone Davis, global head of safety for Facebook, who said the research was not a bombshell, Blumenthal said it was the very definition of a bombshell and that Big Tech was having its Big Tobacco moment, the moment when research shows they knew its product was harmful, but concealed that knowledge for the sake of profit. As Connecticut’s attorney general, Blumenthal had led that state’s action against Big Tobacco and remembered the moment when he had the files that showed tobacco knew its product caused cancer.

Ranking member Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said Facebook abused consumers’ privacy, did not respect its users, invaded the privacy of children, and was in violation of federal law — the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member of the parent Senate Commerce Committee, said Congress must act against powerful tech companies to protect children and the public at large. He called their product addictive, and agreed that legislators on both sides of the aisle are concerned. Wicker said he had talked to an opinion maker just before the hearing who said “the tech gods had been demystified.” Wicker agreed, and said that the hearing was furthering that process.

Both Blumenthal and Blackburn suggested they would be looking to narrow Big Tech's immunity from civil liability for third-party content on their platforms under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. 

Haugen said the way to modify Sec. 230 is to exempt platform decisions about their algorithms. Those platforms may arguably not have the control over third-party content, but she said they have 100% control over their algorithms. 

But while there have been ongoing bipartisan differences between what is considered particularly sensitive data and how that should be protected, Facebook’s research revelations could potentially be the tipping point that brings Democrats and Republicans together over a common “enemy.” That certainly seemed to the the case Tuesday,

Blackburn predicted that this Congress would be the one where online privacy legislation finally passed, something both sides have been talking about for almost a decade.

Also Read: Facebook Whistleblower's Identity Revealed on ‘60 Minutes’

The time has come for action on privacy legislation, agreed Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), "and I think you are the catalyst," she told Haugen.

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said he agreed it was time to bridge the partisan differences and pass bipartisan privacy legislation. Blumenthal said he thought the differences were minor, particularly in the face of what they had learned about Facebook. Joined by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) they agreed it was time to get to work and get it done.

Haugen revealed her identity on CBS’s newsmagazine 60 Minutes, which drew a strong rebuttal from Facebook. Haugen told the committee she had revealed herself at great personal risk because she believed there was still time to address the Facebook issues. Blumenthal assured her that the committee would do what it could to protect her from any retaliation.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), historically one of the strongest advocates for children's online protections and a primary author of COPPA, called Haugen a 21st Century American Hero.

Markey warned that Facebook lobbyists would he making visits after the hearing telling Congress it can't act.

Facebook took aim at Haugen's authority on the subjects on which she testified, and again said they supported some regulation of Big Tech.

“Today, a Senate Commerce subcommittee held a hearing with a former product manager at Facebook who worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives – and testified more than six times to not working on the subject matter in question," said Ena Pietsch, director of policy communications. "We don’t agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about. Despite all this, we agree on one thing; it’s time to begin to create standard rules for the internet. It’s been 25 years since the rules for the internet have been updated, and instead of expecting the industry to make societal decisions that belong to legislators, it is time for Congress to act.”

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said Tuesday they will hold a public hearing with a Facebook whistleblower Oct. 5 about Facebook's and Instagram's impact on young people and other issues.

That hearing in Commerce's Consumer Protection Subcommittee will come only days after the Sept. 30 hearing in the same subcommittee on the same topic featuring Antigone Davis, Facebook’s global head of safety.

Also Read: Sen. Blumenthal says TikTok Needs Hill Grilling

The senators said hearing from the whistleblower will be key to understanding what Facebook actually knows about its "toxic effects on young viewers" and when they knew it.

They are holding a series of hearings on children's protections, or lack of them, online.

Also Read: Facebook Gets Beatdown in Hill Hearing

Facebook has been in the hot-seat most recently over a Wall Street Journal article saying it had data showing the negative impact of Instagram on young people, but downplayed it.

Facebook has agreed to send a witness to Washington for a hearing next week in the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), chair and ranking member, respectively, of the subcommittee are both unhappy with a Wall Street Journal report that Facebook had data showing Instagram could be harmful to young people, but downplayed it.

Also Read: Senator Says TikTok Needs Hill Grilling

The title of the Sept. 30 hearing advertises that bipartisan concern: “Protecting Kids Online: Facebook, Instagram, & Mental Health Harms.” 

And if that were not sufficient tip-off, Blumenthal made it clear: “This hearing will examine the toxic effects of Facebook and Instagram on young people and others.“ 

“[Founder and CEO] Mark Zuckerberg’s guiding principle for Facebook is profit,” added Blackburn.

Blumenthal’s office said that Facebook has agreed to send global head of safety Antigone Davis to the hearing. It also signaled there will be more hearings where this came from, with other social media companies having agreed to appear at future hearings “looking at whether Big Tech is knowingly harming people.”

If past is prologue, Davis can expect to get a grilling next week.

Earlier this month, Blumenthal and Blackburn launched a probe of Facebook's alleged "coverup" of the impact of its platforms on teens and children, tapping a Facebook whistleblower in that effort.

Blumenthal is also calling on TikTok to explain how it is combating the Devious Licks issue and also plans to hold a hearing on that platform on kids and teens.

A pair of powerful senators have launched a bipartisan congressional investigation into Facebook's alleged "coverup" of the impact of its platforms on teens and children tapping a Facebook whistleblower in that effort.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Commerce Consumer Protection Subcommittee, said they were launching that probe.

Last month, both the legislators asked Facebook for internal research on the impact of their platforms, including Instagram Kids--on young people's mental health.

That probe comes amid pushback on Facebook's plans for Instagram Kids and in direct response to a story in the Wall Street Journal that got widespread coverage.

Also Read: FTC Accuses Facebook of Surveillance-Based Ads

Under the headline and leadline "Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show, Its own in-depth research shows a significant teen mental-health issue that Facebook plays down in public," the Journal reported Tuesday that, based on internal memos, Facebook had research showing that Instagram had an adverse impact on a number of teens, particularly teen girls, almost a third of whom polled said Instagram made them feel worse about their bodies.

Facebook emphasized that a large percentage of teens were not adversely affected.

Also Read: Groups Tell Facebook To Abandon Instagram Jr. Plans

“It is clear that Facebook is incapable of holding itself accountable," said Blumenthal and Blackburn in a joint statement. "The Wall Street Journal’s reporting reveals Facebook’s leadership to be focused on a growth-at-all-costs mindset that valued profits over the health and lives of children and teens. When given the opportunity to come clean to us about their knowledge of Instagram’s impact on young users, Facebook provided evasive answers that were misleading and covered up clear evidence of significant harm. We are in touch with a Facebook whistleblower and will use every resource at our disposal to investigate what Facebook knew and when they knew it – including seeking further documents and pursuing witness testimony. The Wall Street Journal’s blockbuster reporting may only be the tip of the iceberg.”

"While the story focuses on a limited set of findings and casts them in a negative light, we stand by this research," said Facebook in a blog post Tuesday. "It demonstrates our commitment to understanding complex and difficult issues young people may struggle with, and informs all the work we do to help those experiencing these issues."

Facebook had no comment beyond the blog.

Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Mark Warner (D-Va.), have reintroduced a bill that would require more transparency about edge providers' use of secret algorithms to frame user's online experience.

The Filter Bubble Transparency Act, which was introduced back in 2019, requires large internet platforms (over 1 million users and generating more than $50 million in gross revenues, to inform users how their experience is being shaped and allow them to exit that information bubble if they choose.

Also Read: Big Tech Sues Florida

Specifically, the bill would require those platforms to:

1. "Clearly notify its users that their platform creates a filter bubble that uses secret algorithms (computer-generated filters) to determine the order or manner in which information is delivered to users; and

2. "Provide its users with the option of a filter bubble-free view of the information they provide. The bill would enable users to transition between a customized, filter bubble-generated version of information and a non-filter bubble version (for example, the “sparkle icon” option that is currently offered by Twitter that allows users to toggle between a personalized timeline and a purely chronological timeline)."

It would be illegal for anyone to operate a covered online platform that uses a "secret algorithm" unless the above two conditions are met. The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the legislation, including giving it the power to seek civil penalties for willful violations.

The bill's 2019 bipartisan incarnation may not have made it into law, but Silicon Valley is under renewed, heavy, and bipartisan criticism for how it treats content and its users.

“Big tech’s manipulative algorithms have exploited consumers and their data for far too long,” said Blumenthal. “By notifying and providing users with options for how they are viewing information, this bill will grant Americans the transparency and privacy they deserve. I’m proud to join a bipartisan coalition in the ongoing fight for stronger data privacy protections.”

“The more transparency consumers have with respect to how social media and other internet platforms prioritize content on their services, the better,” said Thune, ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee Communications Subcommittee (all the bill's sponsors but Warner are members of the committee). “This legislation helps consumers better understand how algorithms are used to select content in their ‘feed’ and gives users more control over what information they are digesting. I’d like to thank Sen. Schatz for adding his support to this bill, which increases the momentum behind this important issue.”

Attorney General Bill Barr signaled to Congress Wednesday (May 1) that he thought social media companies were doing a better job of policing their platforms in the wake of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

That came during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Barr said it was because of our robust First Amendment and the way we now communicate that Russians were able to affect the dialog "in a way they have never been able to do before." He said there have long been efforts by foreign powers to meddle in elections, but they used to be easier to detect.

Barr said it was the technology and "democratization" of information that made the danger of such meddling "far more insidious." He said that meddling meant getting access to "effectively our whole communications system" including business systems and infrastructure.

Related: Facebook Won't Require Disclosures on News Media Alliance

Asked by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) whether the government was able to work with the different social media giants to help counter some of that and whether those companies were already "stepping up to this challenge" and making sure they were also pushing back against foreign adversaries. "[Y]es I think the private companies are stepping up their game and being more responsible in addressing it," said Barr.

Republican Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) was not so sanguine about Big Tech. She said that as she looked at social media, they looked as though they were either willing to turn a blind eye to fake Russian accounts--pointing out some had been paid in rubles--or were negligent. Either way, she said she hoped the Justice Department had a game plan to "rein in" those social media platforms for the 2020 election.

Blackburn did not ask Barr to comment on that, and he did not volunteer an observation.

Rep. Michael O'Rielly has told the Hill that it should levy a spectrum fee on government users as a way to insure they use that valuable resource effectively.

That came in a letter to new House communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) this week.

Blackburn's first subcommittee hearing as chair was on the reauthorization of the National Telecommunications &Information Administration, which oversees government spectrum users as the FCC does private users.

Blackburn has said that insuring efficient government use is a priority for the subcommittee as part of reauthorization, and O'Rielly was all for it.

He suggested that the subcommittee look closely at enacting an Agency Spectrum Fee as a way to improve efficiency, and, by imposing a cost to holding on to it, even a conservative one, could serve as an "appropriate and necessary stick" that would keep them from sitting on valuable spectrum real estate unless it
was mission critical.

He did not take credit for the idea--which was explored by an NTIA spectrum advisory committee, though as a Hill staffer he has experience with coming up with reauthorization priorities.