LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Despite a split in Congress, influential Senate Democrats say a law addressing a technology “arms race” with China and issues related to social media will expire in the current two-year term. said it could be passed.
U.S. tech companies lag behind Chinese rivals in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and advanced energy, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said, some analysts said. told the Daily Beast that it sees broad support from lawmakers for measures aimed at boosting investment. When the risks are obvious and potentially disastrous.
“I think anywhere that’s going to be in a tech arms race with China, we can get something done,” Warner, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in an interview at the CES tech show on Friday. Told.
For these efforts to be successful, Warner said investment from both the government and the private sector is needed. Warner was a former mobile tech executive before embarking on a career in politics that led to the Governor’s Mansion in Virginia and his 2008 US Senate election.
The prospects for legislation to tighten social media regulation are less clear, but popular video-sharing app TikTok has been making headlines and could lead to national security scrutiny, he said.
TikTok, which claims to have more than 1 billion active users worldwide, has raised concerns among lawmakers from both parties who fear it will be used as a surveillance and propaganda tool by the Chinese government.
TikTok has repeatedly denied that the Chinese government controls its content and has requested data about its users.
The federal government and at least 19 individual states have already banned TikTok from government computers. During his tenure, former President Donald Trump tried to force TikTok’s parent company, his Beijing-based ByteDance, to sell the service to a US company through an executive order later revoked by President Joe Biden. and
In parliament, a bipartisan group of lawmakers announced later in the 2022 session that they would “block all transactions from or under the influence of social media companies in China, Russia, and several other countries of concern.” and introduced legislation to protect Americans by prohibiting No action was taken, but the bill or similar may be reintroduced in the current session.
Warner has indicated that he doesn’t like such a cursory approach, but said action would likely be taken to address the TikTok controversy.
“I’m not talking about banning a single app, but the security challenges TikTok poses to our children are alive and real,” he said.
“The security challenges TikTok poses to our children are alive and real.”
— Senator Mark Warner (D-VA)
Warner lamented Congress’ failure to act to strengthen privacy protections and address other concerns related to social media. It’s like going far away,” he said.
Despite concerns on both sides of the aisle, he believes the party split could limit legislation during this term to “a few small balls.” and entice users to make unintended purchases or bad choices.
One possible exception is legislation to strengthen child protection and address the impact of social media on children’s mental health, Warner said. “Anything about child safety is going to be broadly bipartisan,” he said.
Warner’s Friday interview with The Daily Beast came shortly after he appeared on a CES panel with Senator Jackie Rosen of Nevada and Senator Ben Ray Luhan of New Mexico. of issues on the minds of lawmakers at the top of the new session.
Among other things, the trio discussed advocating for stronger cybersecurity protocols in both the private and public sectors, especially when it comes to health information. I don’t think we’ll be able to achieve this until we can see that it’s actually built into the healthcare system, rather than bolted on, right?” Warner said.
They will also closely monitor the $65 billion spending approved by Congress to expand broadband access in rural and underserved areas to ensure that the “digital divide” is addressed. We also discussed the need. Rosen said both she and Luhan will be included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that will pass Congress in 2021 to ensure that maps of the Federal Communications Commission’s coverage areas reflect the realities of the field. supported the creation of a broadband section that
Also commented on efforts to amend or repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. This exempts Internet publishers from liability for content posted on their platforms by third parties. Warner indicated that he believed significant action in this regard was unlikely as the party splits were so severe.
