麦克·班尼参议员周四提出了一项法案，将建立一个联邦监管机构来监督大型科技公司，授权这个新机构解决算法偏差和内容审核透明度等有争议的问题。
这位科罗拉多州民主党人的法案出台之际，这些科技巨头正面临国会两党的高度审查，这引发了高调的听证会和对抗性的言论，但一直难以通过立法。
在最新的改革举措出台之前，脸书举报者弗朗西丝·豪根(Frances Haugen)披露了一系列令人震惊的消息，欧盟立法者也就一项密切监管该行业的里程碑式法律达成了一致。《华盛顿邮报》首先报道了贝内特的法案。
“作为一个国家，我们应该为大多数世界领先的科技公司都成立于美国而感到自豪。但他们不再是初创企业了。今天，他们跻身于人类历史上最强大的公司之列，”Bennet在周四的一份声明中说。
“早就应该采取深思熟虑的全面方法来监管数字平台，这些平台已经积聚了对我们的经济、社会和民主的非凡力量，”他补充说。
根据Bennet办公室提供的法案摘要，新机构将制定和执行监管公司行为的规则，模仿监管药品或媒体标准的监督机构所扮演的角色。
提议的立法要求成立由五名成员组成的联邦数字平台委员会，他们将举行听证会，开展调查，并实施新的规则。该机构还将包括一个代码委员会，由来自行业和民间社会的个人组成，他们可以提供进一步的技术专长，法案摘要说。
该法案可能会在参议院面临艰难的通过道路，由于副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯可能会投票打破平局，民主党人在参议院以50比50的微弱优势占据多数。虽然一些共和党人批评大型科技公司的反保守偏见和其他错误，但他们也不愿意扩大联邦政府的监管范围。
与此同时，一些大型科技公司的领导者已经表示支持像法案中概述的那样建立一个针对特定行业的监管机构。在2021年3月的国会听证会上，脸书首席执行官马克·扎克伯格说一个新的机构“可以非常有效和积极地帮助解决问题。”微软总裁布拉德·史密斯(Brad Smith)上个月在一次隐私峰会上表示，他支持这样一个监督机构。
美国联邦贸易委员会(FTC)由法律学者和大科技评论家Lina Khan领导，是科技巨头的主要监管机构。去年7月，美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)签署了一项行政命令，呼吁联邦贸易委员会(FTC)制定数据收集规则，并对之前的公司合并提出质疑。但该机构在监管方面的进展仍然有限。
在拜登政府的另一项努力中，司法部已经就涉嫌违反反垄断法对谷歌提起诉讼。
联邦通信委员会(Federal communication s Commission)前主席汤姆·惠勒(Tom Wheeler)表示，目前的监管机构已被证明不足以应对科技行业带来的新挑战，他称拟议中的法案是“历史性的”。
“我们现有的监管机构是在工业时代根据工业时代的概念建立的，21世纪监管机构面临的挑战是:你如何根据完全不同的现实制定法规，并将它们与数字世界正在发生的事情联系起来?”惠勒说，他以前曾呼吁成立这样一个监督机构。
“让我们创建一个固有的数字机构，”他补充说。
Senate bill would create federal watchdog for Big Tech
Sen. Michael Bennet on Thursday introduced a bill that would create a federal watchdog for the oversight of Big Tech companies, empowering the new agency to address controversial issues like algorithm bias and transparency in content moderation.
The bill from the Colorado Democrat comes as the tech giants face heightened scrutiny from both sides of the aisle in Congress, which has generated high-profile hearings and adversarial rhetoric but has struggled to pass legislation.
The latest push for reform follows a series of bombshell revelations from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen as well as an agreement among European Union lawmakers over a landmark law that would closely regulate the sector. The Washington Post first reported Bennet's bill.
“As a country, we should take pride that most of the world’s leading tech companies were founded in America. But they aren’t start-ups anymore. Today they rank among the most powerful companies in human history,” Bennet said in a statement on Thursday.
“It’s past time for a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to regulating digital platforms that have amassed extraordinary power over our economy, society, and democracy,” he added.
The new agency would develop and enforce rules that regulate company conduct, mimicking the role played by oversight bodies that police pharmaceutical drugs or media standards, according to a summary of the bill provided by Bennet’s office.
The proposed legislation calls for the formation of the Federal Digital Platform Commission made up of five members, who would hold hearings, carry out investigations, and implement new rules. The agency would also include a Code Council featuring individuals from the industry and civil society who can offer further technical expertise, the bill summary said.
The bill will likely face a difficult path to passage in the Senate, where Democrats hold a narrow 50-50 majority due to a potential tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris. While some Republicans have criticized Big Tech firms over perceived anti-conservative bias and other faults, they have also shown a reluctance to expand the regulatory reach of the federal government.
Meanwhile, some Big Tech leaders have expressed support for a sector-specific regulatory agency like the one outlined in the bill. At a congressional hearing in March 2021, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerbergsaida new agency “could be very effective and positive for helping out.” Microsoft President Brad Smith last month at a privacy summit signaled his approval of such an oversight body.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), led by legal scholar and Big Tech critic Lina Khan, serves as a major regulatory agency for the tech giants. Last July, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that called on the FTC to develop rules on data collection and to challenge prior company mergers. But progress on regulation at the agency remains limited.
In a separate effort from the Biden administration, the Justice Department has brought a lawsuit against Google over alleged antitrust violations.
Current watchdogs have proven insufficient for the new challenges posed by the tech industry, said Tom Wheeler, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission who called the proposed bill “historic.”
“Our existing regulatory agencies were built in the industrial era on industrial-age concepts, and the challenge of 21st-century regulators is: How do you take statutes built in response to entirely different realities and relate them to what’s happening in the digital world?” said Wheeler, who previously called for the formation of such a watchdog.
“Let’s create an inherently digital agency," he added.
