OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A Senate Democrat has introduced legislation that would create an entirely new federal agency charged with monitoring and even regulating online speech, leading some to dub the bill as an attempt to resurrect a so-called ‘Ministry of Truth’ proposed last year by the Department of Homeland Security.
The measure, proposed by Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, is called the Digital Platform Commission Act, and it would “create an expert federal body empowered to provide comprehensive, sector-specific regulation of digital platforms to protect consumers, promote competition, and defend the public interest,” according to the description.
“The new Federal Digital Platform Commission would have the mandate, jurisdiction, and broad set of tools to develop and enforce thoughtful guardrails for a sector that has been left for too long to write its own rules, with serious consequences for everything from teen mental health to disinformation to anti-competitve practices that have hurt small businesses,” a statement from Bennet’s office claimed.
“It’s past time for a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to regulating digital platforms that have amassed extraordinary power over our economy, society, and democracy,” the statement continued. “We should follow the long precedent in American history of empowering an expert body to protect the public interest through common sense rules and oversight for complex and powerful sectors of the economy.”
Details about what constituted ‘common sense rules’ were not provided.
“The new Federal Digital Platform Commission would have five commissioners appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. It would be staffed by experts with a background in areas such as computer science, software development, and technology policy. The Commission would have a broad mandate to promote the public interest, with specific directives to protect consumers, promote competition, and assure the fairness and safety of algorithms on digital platforms, among other areas,” the statement added.
“The Commission would have the authority to promulgate rules, impose civil penalties, hold hearings, conduct investigations, and support research,” the statement continued. “It could also designate ‘systemically important digital platforms’ subject to additional oversight, regulation, and merger review.”
“As a country, we should take pride that most of the world’s leading tech companies were founded in America. But they aren’t start-ups anymore. Today they rank among the most powerful companies in human history. It’s past time for a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to regulating digital platforms that have amassed extraordinary power over our economy, society, and democracy,” said Bennet.
“We don’t have to choose between letting digital platforms write their own rules, allowing competitors like China and the E.U. write those rules, or leaving it to politicians in Congress. We should follow the long precedent in American history of empowering an expert body to protect the public interest through common sense rules and oversight for complex and powerful sectors of the economy,” he added.
In April 2022, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the creation of the Disinformation Governance Board, which he said would “coordinate countering misinformation related to homeland security, focused specifically on irregular migration and Russia.”
DHS appointed Nina Jankowicz as executive director of the disinformation board, though, as the Washington Examiner reported at the time, she “has a history of sharing misleading claims about British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s discredited dossier and downplaying controversy embroiling President Joe Biden’s son.”
DHS and the Biden administration were immediately attacked for attempting to create what critics called a “Ministry of Truth” that would decide what was and was not ‘misinformation.’
Former President Donald Trump, in an interview with CBN, remarked that the board was a ”horrible idea” and that he could not believe ”that we’re talking about this subject.”
“Every dictatorship has a propaganda arm—a ‘Ministry of Truth,’” former Democratic lawmaker-turned-Independent Tulsi Gabbard noted in a video posted to Twitter.
Every dictatorship has a propaganda arm—a “Ministry of Truth.” The Biden Administration has now formally joined the ranks of such dictatorships with their creation of the so-called “Disinformation Governance Board.” pic.twitter.com/iMnrqksaJJ
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) April 29, 2022
