Dozens Of Companies Send Letter To Caution Congress About Big Tech
By Movieguide® Contributor
Dozens of companies banded together to send a message of warning to the U.S. Congress about the dangers of Big Tech.
The letter urged members of Congress to support a bill that would regulate companies like Amazon and Google and modernize antitrust laws so that smaller companies can compete.
Companies and groups that support the bill include businesses like Yelp, Spotify, Sonos, the American Booksellers Association, and the American Independent Business Alliance.
However, Big Tech companies argue that this bill would also affect things like Google Maps and Amazon Basics, making it harder for the companies to protect users’ security and privacy.
Movieguide® previously reported on efforts to regulate Big Tech, especially when it comes to young people:
After Facebook whistleblower Francine Haugen released internal documents and testified that the company was aware of Instagram’s harm to teenage users, lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle agreed that Big Tech should be held accountable.
During a recent court hearing, Sen. Richard Blumenthal read the text of a parent who claimed that his 15-year-old daughter’s use of Instagram negatively affected her mental health.
“I am in tears right now,” the text read. “Suddenly she started hating her body, her body dysmorphia, now in anorexia and was in deep, deep trouble before we found treatment. I fear she’ll never be the same. I am brokenhearted.”
Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee echoed Blumenthal’s stance, noting that “as a mother and a grandmother, this is an issue that is of particular concern to me.”
Despite political polarization between Democrats (Blumenthal) and Republicans (Blackburn) legislators, the two sides have found that they can agree on the need to protect children against the current business models of Big Tech companies.
In another court hearing called the “Protecting Kids Online: Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube,” Blackburn and Blumenthal called out an additional list of companies for their lack of concern for the potential harm their platforms pose to young users.
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