As we are all well aware, what happens online surely does not stay online. Whether it’s the flow of private data, kids’ experiences on social media, or the spread of potentially harmful information, the digital world is increasingly a part of our lived experience. As such, it’s no wonder that Congress is eager to regulate it. In fact, in many cases, both Democrats and Republicans rightly agree that there is a role for Congress to play.
As happens so often in Washington, the problems occur when lawmakers fail to agree on solutions that are actually effective as the legislative calendar becomes a pressure cooker. When that happens, lawmakers can talk themselves into legislation that might make the problem they’re trying to solve worse, and legislation that is really bad can suddenly start to look… less bad. All of a sudden, Congress is passing sweeping bills with negative impacts for decades to come.
Obamacare, the auto bailout and the Inflation Reduction Act immediately come to mind, but at least those were driven by Democrats. Right now, a powerful House Republican named Cathy McMorris Rodgers is leading the charge on a sweeping bill that might have originally been introduced to address a legitimate issue – to shore up privacy protections for Americans and end the patchwork of statewide privacy laws currently in place – but in reality threatens to hurt America small businesses, empower progressive government bureaucrats to silence conservative speech online, and cede America’s competitive edge to China.
Concerningly, even in this do-nothing Congress, it’s possible the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) gains momentum to actually pass into law. So what’s so bad about it?
While APRA is supposed to set up guardrails to safeguard Americans’ privacy, the bill includes a number of provisions that would give bureaucrats at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), including the agency’s progressive leader, Lina Khan, sweeping new authority over private businesses. The bill includes language that would require new artificial intelligence (AI) technology to be subjected to government-reviewed “impact assessments.” That means APRA would put Khan, who has urged lawmakers to apply DEI principles to new AI products, in charge of determining whether or not new technologies contain “biased” ideas. If the alarm bells aren’t already ringing, keep reading.
Additionally, APRA would give the FTC the authority to issue guidance for how key sections of the bill should be enforced. As the bill is currently written, that guidance could empower progressive activist attorneys to exploit the legislation to push their left-wing agendas rather than protect consumer privacy, saddling businesses with frivolous lawsuits just as our country is locked in a race for global leadership with foreign rivals like China. So while the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is investing in Chinese businesses in an effort to outcompete our country, leaders in Congress are considering bills that would hamstring American companies, threatening U.S. economic interests and national security.
Unfortunately, APRA’s chief Republican sponsor – retiring House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers – has failed to address these issues. Instead, Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers appears focused on passing deeply flawed legislation she believes will burnish her legacy before her time in the nation’s capital runs out.
She also may attempt to move this bill through her committee as part of an effort to protect “kids safety” – an area where both Republicans and Democrats wholeheartedly agree that Congress should act. Again, though, Congress needs effective solutions. Not ones that make the problem worse.
In April, the Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing to discuss the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). While the bill’s supporters claim the KOSA would protect children’s online privacy, in truth, it has been widely criticized for language that would empower progressive state attorneys general. If passed, state AGs would have the ability to decide what content is and isn’t allowed online and – ironically – require companies to collect more data on kids than they currently do.
Additionally, just this month, Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers introduced legislation that would sunset Section 230, a provision designed to protect free speech online. Ending Section 230 would encourage government actors to intimidate platforms into making particular moderation decisions, enabling left-wing officials to coerce companies into censoring conservative speech online.
Of course, I understand wanting to improve Americans’ privacy and protect users online, and during her tenure in Washington, Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers has proven herself to be a thoughtful leader on these issues. However, the truth is that these legislative proposals would do little to protect children online or safeguard consumers’ data. Instead, they would place heavy-handed regulations on businesses and empower left-wing bureaucrats to censor speech online and undermine U.S. national security.
Over the course of her career, Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers has built a reputation as a reasonable, effective lawmaker whom members from both sides respect. But this latest push to pass wide-ranging and deeply flawed legislation is severely misguided. Other lawmakers should beware joining her in this last-ditch effort.
