(Bloomberg) -- I was in the room last week when lawyers for Facebook Inc., Google and Twitter Inc. went in front of U.S. lawmakers to try and explain how Russian agents used their social networks in campaigns designed to influence the 2016 election. The most striking statement, in my view, came from Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California.
“I don't think you get it,” she said. “You bear this responsibility. You created these platforms, and now they are being misused. And you have to be the ones who do something about it.” Feinstein paused. “Or we will.”
The specter of new rules governing the places we hang out and connect online is getting bigger as governments around the world wake up to the awesome power wielded by companies like Facebook and Google. China is shutting down virtual private networks that people use to get around censorship for accessing YouTube or Facebook. U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is working to undo the landmark net neutrality rules that came in under President Barack Obama. In Europe, where competition authorities have already forced fines and changes from Google, strict new rules on data privacy are coming into effect.
As my colleague Shira Ovide wrote last week, big tech's honeymoon seems to be ending. With that in mind, we got a signal last week that internet giants are ready for more compromise. The Internet Association, which lobbies for Facebook, Google, Twitter and other online companies, said it would now support a proposed U.S. law to make online platforms bear some responsibility for sex trafficking that's facilitated on their networks. Before, they had argued any change to the immunity they get as supposedly neutral platforms could grease a slippery slope that would end the internet as we know it.
At the hearings, Twitter's acting general counsel, Sean Edgett, said his company was open to the “general idea” of another law that would require social networks to record and disclose who pays for the political ads they sell and what audience each ad is targeted at. That bill, called the Honest Ads Act, is picking up steam. It's sponsored by senators on both sides of the aisle, and after the hearings, more lawmakers said they think the bill makes sense and would consider pledging support.
Countries around the world will be watching the U.S. to see how it moves forward. Some activists are worried that new internet regulations in the world's most powerful democracy could give way to autocratic regimes bringing in new restrictions in their own countries. Feinstein said she was working on legislation to require social networks to work harder in helping police watch for illegal activity on their platforms. Whatever happens, don't expect this story to fade out. As Feinstein said, “We are not going away, gentlemen, and this is a very big deal.”
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To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net.
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