[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Yoo-jin] U.S. President Joe Biden urged bipartisan cooperation to establish reform and regulatory legislation for Big Tech in an op-ed sent to the conservative leading newspaper The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). This reflects concerns that major Big Tech regulatory bills, which had been promoted so far, could be stalled as the House of Representatives, which holds legislative and budgetary authority, has shifted to the Republican Party.
On the 11th (local time), President Biden, in an op-ed titled "Republicans and Democrats Must Unite Against Big Tech Abuse," called for the bipartisan passage of strong legislation to hold Big Tech socially accountable.
He began by stating, "America's technology industry is the most innovative in the world, and I am proud of the achievements they have made and the talented and dedicated people working in this sector," then pointed out, "Some Big Tech companies abuse Americans' personal information, deepen societal polarization and extremism, violate the rights of women and minorities, and put children at risk."
He particularly criticized various social media platforms for exposing extreme content to attract users' attention. President Biden said, "Platforms use personal information to keep users engaged and expose them to extreme content," and also pointed out illegal activities such as stalking and drug sales alongside various child exploitation materials.
This appears to raise issues across the Big Tech industry, including U.S. companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Twitter, as well as China's video-sharing platform TikTok. However, President Biden did not specifically name any Big Tech companies.
Furthermore, President Biden presented three specific directions for Big Tech "reform." First, he argued that not only should personal information such as internet history, user location, and biometric data be disclosed, but the collection itself should also be prohibited.
He also emphasized the need to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which grants immunity to service providers for content posted by internet users. While increasing algorithmic transparency is urgent as a major cause of social media harms, Section 230 makes it impossible to hold Big Tech companies accountable.
Along with this, President Biden praised the significant progress made in antitrust regulation of Big Tech under the July 2023 "Promoting Competition in the American Economy" executive order and added that platforms operated by Big Tech should be corrected so that small businesses and SMEs receive equal treatment.
Since taking office in January 2021, President Biden has targeted Big Tech aggressively, signaling the application of laws to promote market competition. He divided supervisory authority over Big Tech between the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), officially launching regulatory moves.
He appointed Lina Khan, a strong Big Tech regulation advocate and Columbia Law School associate professor, to lead the FTC, which had been a paper tiger, and formed a three-pronged team by appointing Tim Wu, a proponent of breaking up Big Tech companies, as the White House National Economic Council’s Special Advisor for Technology and Competition Policy, and Jonathan Kanter, known as the "Google Grim Reaper," as the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Chief. They have accelerated pressure on Big Tech regulation.
President Biden stated, "Despite efforts since taking office, there are limits at the executive branch level," and emphasized, "While there are many policies that the newly convened Congress cannot agree on, there is no difference in opinion on protecting personal information, children, and preventing discrimination." He concluded the op-ed by saying, "Let us unite to uphold shared values and show the public that the political sphere can work together."
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