Big Tech

Today during a Senate Judiciary Committee Markup, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) reached an agreement with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to advance the STOP CSAM Act, legislation sponsored by Senator Durbin that cracks down on the proliferation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. With Senator Durbin’s support, the Committee adopted Senator Hawley’s amendment empowering victims to bring civil suits against platforms for knowingly hosting CSAM to...

Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and leading critic of TikTok, will be closely monitoring the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing with TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew as growing pressure mounts to ban TikTok in the United States. Ahead of this, Senator Hawley released the following questions he would like answered: How many CCP members does ByteDance/TikTok employ? How many have access to American data?   Does TikTok...

Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Everyone can Notice-and-Takedown Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (END CSAM) Act, new legislation allowing private citizens to sue Big Tech platforms for hosting CSAM. “The exploitation of children online must be stopped,” said Senator Hawley. “Social media companies have proven to be hubs for child sexual abuse material, and they need be held accountable for their failures. My legislation empowers the American...

Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, in her capacity as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), demanding a thorough review of the whistleblower allegations recently brought to Senator Hawley. "I write regarding new information brought to my attention by a former ByteDance employee with direct knowledge of TikTok’s operating practices," wrote Senator Hawley. "As Chair...

Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced new legislation giving users the right to take back all of their personal information from social media companies. Senator Hawley’s announcement follows news of a new online tool, Take it Down, that aims to give control to users to take down explicit images and videos of themselves from the internet. The tool is reportedly operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and funded in part by Meta.

Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Parental Data Rights Act, new legislation that would require Big Tech companies to give parents control over their children’s data and hold accountable companies that fail to comply. Senator Hawley’s legislation follows news of a new online tool, Take it Down, that aims to give control to users to remove explicit images and videos of themselves as children from the internet. The tool is reportedly operated by the...

By U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) | Feb. 16, 2023 | Washington Post This Congress is less than two months old, and a good many Capitol watchers have already written it off as a lost cause. With control split between Republicans and Democrats, can anything get done?  Of course it can. Lawmakers can enact transformative change almost overnight — if they have the will to act. And I can think of at least one nonpartisan issue that deserves this kind of urgency: protecting children...

Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced two bills to protect kids online and prevent harm by social media companies. The Making Age-Verification Technology Uniform, Robust, and Effective Act (MATURE Act) would enforce a minimum age requirement of 16 years old for all users on social media platforms, and the Federal Social Media Research Act would commission a government report on the harm of social media for kids. “Children suffer every day from the...

Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the No TikTok on United States Devices Act to prohibit the Chinese-based TikTok app from being downloaded on U.S. devices and ban commercial activity with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.  “TikTok poses a threat to all Americans who have the app on their devices. It opens the door for the Chinese Communist Party to access Americans’ personal information, keystrokes, and location through aggressive data...

Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he would introduce new legislation to ban TikTok in the United States.  Senator Hawley’s No TikTok on Government Devices Act was signed into law last year.  He originally introduced the legislation in 2020 and it unanimously passed the Senate later that year. In April 2021, Senator Hawley reintroduced the legislation and it unanimously passed in the Senate Homeland Security...