Blumenthal, Schatz Welcome Facebook Census Decision; Cantwell Urges Regulation

Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, welcomed Facebook’s announcement it will remove misleading platform content about the U.S. census (see 1912190059). Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said more needs to be done.

Facebook’s decision is “a good thing,” Blumenthal told us. “It is definitely a positive step.” CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently testified that the platform doesn’t fact-check political ads, so his census decision is seen as a shift in content moderation attitude. Facebook’s decision came weeks after Twitter banned all political ads (see 1911010041) and Google announced limitations on political advertising microtargeting (see 1912020041).

Spotify announced Friday it will “pause” certain political ad sales starting in early 2020. This includes the company’s content in its ad-supported tier and in Spotify original and exclusive podcasts, a spokesperson said: “We do not yet have the necessary level of robustness in our processes, systems and tools to responsibly validate and review this content. We will reassess this decision as we continue to evolve our capabilities.”

Zuckerberg’s announcement isn’t “sufficient” in itself, Cantwell told reporters: “Facebook should be just like any other broadcaster. They should follow the same political advertising and messaging rules that a TV broadcaster has to follow.”

“It was a very good step, absolutely in the right direction,” said Schatz. “I like Google’s policies with respect to this. I like what Twitter’s doing. We have a long way to go, and I think we have to trust but verify. But I’ve been a real critic of these internet platforms and so let me take this opportunity to say that in this instance, they appear to be doing the right thing.”

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he has “grudging respect” for Zuckerberg’s attempts to “support” free speech. “I still believe that government should not be put in charge of what people can post on the internet,” he said. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced legislation in June to remove Section 230 immunity for big tech companies unless they prove to the FTC every two years that content removal decisions are politically neutral (see 1906190047). Kennedy repeated his call for social media companies to form an independent body of respected, impartial experts to make decisions about content moderation.

“You’re not going to make everyone happy, but as long as people understand it’s a fair, impartial, good-faith effort, they’ll be a lot more supportive than the ad-hoc approach we’re doing now,” Kennedy said. “And I think they’ll certainly be more supportive than having the government involved.”

Blumenthal told reporters he’s aware that House Commerce Committee staffs released a privacy discussion draft (see 1912180052). “Any of these ideas that add to the mix of very plausible and important proposals are welcome,” he said.

The Senate’s passage of robocall legislation the day after a House impeachment vote (see 1912190068) shows compromise is possible on privacy legislation, Blumenthal said. “Bipartisanship still can work, even literally on the day after impeachment,” he said, noting it took years to raise the issue of robocall legislation, which was “equally controversial” to privacy. Draft legislation ultimately drew bipartisan support and passed the Senate with a voice vote, he said.

Congress needs to continue working, not necessarily toward a date, Blumenthal said. It’s only a matter of time with states moving forward with bills and industry not wanting to face a “nightmare” patchwork of state laws, he said. Asked if a new privacy agency would get support from Senate Republicans, Blumenthal said, “I’m not sure it would get support from Democrats.” An FTC with stronger resources, authority and oversight is the best outcome, he said.