In the United States, a new bill on algorithms could mark a first step in the fight of Congress against Facebook, to fight against the domination of algorithms on the news feed. The Social Media Nudge Actwhose authors are Amy Klobuchar and Cynthia Lummis, aims to slow the spread of false information on social networks.
The operation of the news feed in the sights of American legislators
This bill is going to be written with the help of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). Both institutions are responsible for proposing new ways to “add friction to online content sharing” and slow the spread of fake news. American researchers must propose several technological means to meet this objective. Among the first tracks on the table, there is the obligation to read before sharing an article on social networks.
TikTok transmits more data to third parties than other social networks
Once all the proposals have been voted on, the Federal Trade Commission plans to codify them and force platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to put them into practice. Amy Klobuchar, a US senator and member of the Democratic Party, believes that it has been too long for tech companies control how the news feed works. For years, they held the discourse of “trust us, we take care of everything”. Today, that may well change.
Senators know full well that platforms have “repeatedly put profits before user safety, with algorithms pushing dangerous content that hooks users and spreads misinformation”. Democrats have long wanted to tackle online misinformation, but each time clashed with the Republicans who saw their efforts as threats to freedom of expression.
Democrats and Republicans work hand in hand to regulate social media
It is since the denunciations of Frances Haugen, in 2020, and the revelation of the Facebook Files, that members of both parties began to work together to find ways to regulate the algorithms. The support of Cynthia Lummis, senator and member of the Republican Party, marks a turning point and an important step in this process.
She believes that “The Social Media Nudge Act is a step towards completely resolving giant tech excess. By empowering the NSF and NASEM to study social media addiction, we will truly understand the impact of algorithms on our society.”. From this work, the two senators count propose new regulations to counter the negative effects of social networks.
Congress is running out of time to pass legislation before all eyes are on the midterm elections. Amy Klobuchar is optimistic. She thinks lawmakers will have the ability to pass a bill quickly. She specifies that “This regulation will help tackle bad social media practices, including implementing changes that increase transparency and improve the user experience”. The United States seems determined to adopt significant reforms that tackle head-on through social networks.