“The FTC isn’t working. It wastes time in turf wars with the DOJ, nobody is accountable for decisions, and it lacks the ‘teeth’ to get after Big Tech’s rampant abuses. Congress needs to do something about it. I’m proposing to overhaul the FTC to make it more accountable and efficient while strengthening its enforcement authority. This is about bringing the FTC into the 21st century.”
Today the United States Senate unanimously passed the conference report of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED) Act, sending the bill to President Trump’s desk. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is a cosponsor of the TRACED Act, which will crack down on the illegal robocalls that inundate Missourians every day. The final version of the legislation includes a proposal from Senator Hawley and Senator Susan Collins that will make it easier to prosecute criminal...
“Location data is among the most sensitive personal information that a user can share with a company. Today, modern smartphones can reveal location data beyond a mere street address,” the Senators wrote. “We appreciate Facebook’s attempt to proactively inform users about their privacy options. However, we are concerned that Facebook may not in fact be offering users the level of control that the company suggests these settings provide.”
“Your data is your property. Period. Consumers should have the flexibility to choose new online platforms without artificial barriers to entry. This bill creates long-overdue requirements that will boost competition and give consumers the power to move their data from one service to another,” said Sen. Hawley.
“But the FTC’s failure now and in recent years to fully enforce COPPA compliance has us concerned that an update at this time could diminish children and parents’ control of their data or otherwise weaken existing privacy protections. Now is not the time to pull back,” write the Senators in the letter to all five FTC Commissioners. “As children’s use of technology continues to increase, so too does the appetite by tech giants for children’s personal information. Your agency’s obligation is to put consumers’ interests first and enforce the law.”
Today Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission’s five commissioners asking them to release the agency’s 2012 report on Google’s anticompetitive tactics and abuse of monopoly power. Half of the 2012 report was inadvertently disclosed in 2015 and revealed that Google rigged search results to bias its own services over competitors’. In the letter Senator Hawley writes, “I believe the remaining pages likely contain information critical to the public...
Today Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), along with Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.), sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg criticizing the social media company’s recent "independent fact check," false rating, and subsequent censorship of pro-life organization Live Action. In the letter, the Senators note that Facebook’s "independent fact check" was conducted by abortion rights activists who no reasonable person could consider neutral or objective...
”I was proud to launch the first antitrust and privacy investigation of Big Tech by an attorney general two years ago. I’m heartened to see a new group of attorneys general with the courage to stand up to these powerful companies and fight for citizens. Big Tech companies should be held accountable if they are violating our privacy or harming our children or killing innovation.”
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) released the following statement in response to Facebook’s conservative bias audit: “Merely asking somebody to listen to conservatives’ concerns isn’t an ‘audit,’ it’s a smokescreen disguised as a solution. Facebook should conduct an actual audit by giving a trusted third party access to its algorithm, its key documents, and its content moderation protocols. Then Facebook should release the results to the public.”
Senator Hawley said, “Big tech has embraced a business model of addiction. Too much of the ‘innovation’ in this space is designed not to create better products, but to capture more attention by using psychological tricks that make it difficult to look away. This legislation will put an end to that and encourage true innovation by tech companies.”