Welch Introduces Bill to Provide Oversight of Big Tech

Press Release

Rep. Peter Welch introduced new legislation, the Digital Platform Commission Act, today to create a federal regulatory agency to govern Big Tech. For too long, major technology companies have remained largely unregulated, free to make decisions with significant consequences for democracy, our economy, and American life with little oversight. As a result, Big Tech has designed platforms to increase revenue for large corporations by amplifying and spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation. These strategies have made Big Tech companies extremely profitably, but they have also jeopardized democracy in the United States and around the world and threatened the health and wellbeing of communities.

The Digital Platform Commission Act will create a regulatory agency with five commissioners, appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The commission would have e the authority to create rules to protect consumers by ensuring fair and safe algorithms on digital platforms. The agency would be staffed by experts in the field who would quickly and comprehensively address evolving and far-reaching issues within the industry. Lastly, the agency would have the authority to promulgate rules, investigate rule-breaking, conduct research, and impose civil penalties. The agency is modeled after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which were created to provide timely and comprehensive regulation for new or rapidly expanding sectors of the economy.

"Whether we like it or not, the decisions that Big Tech make about their digital platforms have major consequences for all aspects of our society," said Rep. Welch. "Our economy, our democracy, our public health outcomes, and increasingly our way of communicating with one another is impacted by the decisions that these major corporations make. And this happens, usually, without any government oversight. Congress has for too long taken a hands-off approach to Big Tech and that needs to end. That's why I am introducing this bill to help ensure that the public interest is protected online, not just these companies' bottom lines. It's time for a strong regulatory body that can help protect our children and our democracy from the harms that persist online."

Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) has introduced a Senate companion to the Digital Platform Commission Act, which has widespread support from experts, advocates, and experienced regulators.

"Rep. Peter Welch's Digital Platform Commission Act remedies today's absence of meaningful oversight of the dominant digital platforms. Beyond creating an expert digital platform agency, Rep. Welch's bill creates a new approach to that oversight," said Tom Wheeler, former Chairman of the FCC and Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution. "Replacing the rigid approach of industrial era regulatory micromanagement with agile risk management embraces the same techniques the companies themselves use to develop technical standards -- only this time, the standards would be consumer protection standards."

"What happens online doesn't stay online. Technology is being weaponized against individuals, societies, and our very democracy. As we have done with every other industry, we must create more oversight of the technology sector," said Hany Farid, Professor at the University of California, Berkeley. "Sensible proposals like Rep. Welch's and Senator Bennet's will move us from the madness of today's internet, to a safer and more private online world that works for us, not against us."

"The introduction of the Digital Platform Commission Act in the House by Representative Welch is a major step forward for consumer protection in the digital age," said Harold Feld, Senior Vice President of Public Knowledge. "While digital platforms play an ever more central role in our lives, American consumers remain at the mercy of outdated laws designed for an analog world. Rep. Welch's bill would create a Digital Platform Commission guided by the public interest and empowered to address the proliferation of deceptive practices, anticompetitive conduct, and deliberate disinformation designed to undermine our democracy. The Energy and Commerce Committee should move swiftly to hold hearings and advance this vital legislation."

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