Biden demands antitrust action against Big Tech during State of the Union

As part of his State of the Union speech, President Biden called for legislation that would prevent firms like Apple and Google having an "unfair advantage" in promoting their own products.

President Biden's speech comes after he made similar points in an Op-Ed piece in January. His State of the Union address said that these are among the issues that need addressing by both the Democratic and the Republican parties.

In ten references to bipartisan measures either proposed or already passed, Biden singled out Big Tech and social media firms for particular attention.

"[We must pass] bipartisan legislation to strengthen antitrust enforcement and prevent big online platforms from giving their own products an unfair advantage," said the President. "We must finally hold social media companies accountable for the experiment they are running on our children for profit."

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"And it's time to pass bipartisan legislation to stop Big Tech from collecting personal data on kids and teenagers online, ban targeted advertising to children, and impose stricter limits on the personal data these companies collect on all of us," continued President Biden

The references to how legislation must be passed is an acknowledgement that such issues have been raised before, only to fail to get sufficient support. And, this is despite a renewed push near the end of 2022 to get it passed.

Biden's comments about a social media experiment being run "on our children for profit," also raises the issue that there is existing legislation that is being ignored. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998 aims to protect children under the age of 13, but previous reports have said many apps available do not come close to compliance.

17 Comments

beowulfschmidt 2349 comments · 12 Years

About 1 year ago

According to a now retired lawyer friend who worked in anti-trust legal cases for many, many years, the Sherman Act, through precedent and interpretation, already allows the government to define pretty much anything it wants as anti-trust.

So I'm inclined to think this is just more rhetoric and hyperbole to engender enough ire and indignation for still more power.

vesalius 12 comments · 21 Years

Seems like this poem fits well with today's cancel and regulate culture.

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

cia 269 comments · 21 Years

vesalius said:

Seems like this poem fits well with today's cancel and regulate culture.

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

How, in any way, does that relate to the article?

bobolicious 1174 comments · 10 Years

beowulfschmidt said:

According to a now retired lawyer friend who worked in anti-trust legal cases for many, many years, the Sherman Act, through precedent and interpretation, already allows the government to define pretty much anything it wants as anti-trust.

So I'm inclined to think this is just more rhetoric and hyperbole to engender enough ire and indignation for still more power.

...indeed is enforcement of meaningful measures a critical consideration...?

Are fines meaningful, vs incarceration of those who may be deemed responsible ?

What about the vast amounts of data already 'in the wild'...?

The suits keep coming... gizmodo.com/apple-iphone-privacy-analytics-12-lawsuits-statement-1850077715

"Open up your iPhone’s settings, tap “Privacy & Security,” and scroll down to “Analytics & Improvements.” There you’ll find a setting label “Share iPhone Analytics.” Toggle it on and off all you want. Tests from Mysk found that Apple collects device analytics data, no matter how you adjust the control”

ericthehalfbee 4489 comments · 13 Years

Google and Facebook should be worried. I’ve been predicting for years a day of reckoning was coming around their massive data collection, usually without any user knowledge.