Yahoo Finance Why Elizabeth Warren and Lindsey Graham want a new US agency to police Big Tech
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Lindsey Graham unveiled their plan for a new Digital Consumer Protection Commission on Thursday.
Two prominent senators have unveiled a proposal that argues that what Washington needs to take on Big Tech in the years ahead is an entirely new agency.
Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released their plan for a Digital Consumer Protection Commission Thursday and began a push for a new regulatory organization that would be focused on the intersection of consumers and online platforms.
"Piecemeal efforts to stop abusive and dangerous practices have failed," the lawmakers wrote in a New York Times op-ed published Thursday morning in conjunction with the announcement, arguing that the only way to affect meaningful change is through structural reforms.
The proposal contained in the 158-page bill is for a commission that would operate in parallel to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ).
Currently, those two agencies are at the center of the efforts to police Big Tech. They often divvy up the companies for additional scrutiny. For example, FTC under Chair Lina Khan has devoted considerable attention to Amazon while the DOJ is currently suing Google .
Thursday's announcement suggested the new commission would be aimed at all of the large tech companies, with Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Meta (META), and Microsoft (MSFT) all named in this week's press release.
The bill was unveiled Thursday with the support of an array of groups from Accountable Tech to the American Economic Liberties Project to the Open Markets Institute and more.
"Today, we take the first step and provide consumers with the tools they need to begin leveling the playing field," added Sen. Graham in a statement. "The creation of a regulatory commission to oversee Big Tech is the first step in a long journey to protect American consumers from the massive power these companies currently wield."
Unify Washington’s approach to Big Tech
Warren and Graham cite new agencies created over American history — from the Interstate Commerce Commission (for railroads) to the Federal Communications Commission (for radio and television) — as examples of how they say Washington historically has been able to adapt to changes in the economy.
The Senators say this new commission — which would be formed in conjunction with a host of new rules for how Big Tech should operate — would supplement and amplify existing efforts instead of replacing them.
They say the effort would strengthen the hand of existing agencies — including the DOJ and its power to bring criminal charges — as well as state attorneys general.
Morgan Harper, director of policy and advocacy at the American Economic Liberties Project, added in a statement that the effort could help ensure that “the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division have the authority they need.”
Another key reason for the new proposal seems to be an attempt to provide some unity to Washington's often scattered efforts around a range of tech issues.
For example, the rise of artificial intelligence has gained lawmaker attention this year, with ideas floating around for an agency devoted to that subject. Privacy and tech has also emerged as a giant concern this year in Washington.
The Warren and Graham proposal has provisions around AI, including new rules around AI tools with the potential to hurt consumers and the still-evolving risks from generative AI. The bill also has privacy provisions such as a guarantee that users would be able to know when their personal data is being collected.
The bill "would help address major concerns around competition, privacy, security, and transparency in a truly bipartisan manner," said Patrick Gaspard, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, one of the backers of the new effort.
What remains to be seen is how this effort, if it gains traction in the weeks and months ahead, would work alongside these other ideas already under consideration.
But Thursday’s announcement underlines that competition concerns around Big Tech could be rising again to the top of Washington’s to-do list after an effort on that subject stalled out last year amid intense lobbying. The White House recently unveiled new guidelines for mergers with an announcement that was clearly aimed at Big Tech.
Earlier this week, Mark MacCarthy at the Brookings Institution argued that the failure of the FTC to step in against Microsoft's acquisition of video game maker Activision suggested that “a new regulatory structure, with a federal agency empowered to set rules governing tech company behavior, may be more effective.”
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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