Prioritize famine, war, plague and rebellion over both
As I write this, people I helped elect (and many more that I didn’t) are intensely focused on the single most-critical issue the American people face – one that, left unchecked, will inevitably, fatally, shatter the foundations of society.
Not enough choice in smartphones.
Ignoring the fact that the U.S. is wrestling with global issues including war, famine, plague and rebellion, it’s hard to put the smartphone market at the top of the domestic agenda (ahead of inflation, reproductive health or gun violence.) Even narrowing things further and looking at the tech economy alone, cybersecurity, privacy and the pending blockade of digital trade with Europe seem more urgent than re-engineering a smartphone app economy that seems to be working for most people. Given that moving anything forward in Washington is almost impossible these days, it’s critical that senators align their priorities with the needs of the country.
The digital issues facing the U.S. would seem to be wide-ranging and interconnected. Social media gets scooped in when talking about voting reform, political advertising and disinformation. Targeted ads are held up as evidence of our loss of privacy. But the underlying issues: voting rights, free speech, and surveillance, have been with us since long before the internet was a thing. They are not digital issues, but social and political ones, and they should be treated as such.
Reforming competition law is an economic issue, not a digital one. We should question the logic in carving out the digital economy from the overall economy, given that the distinction between the two disappeared long ago. If antitrust law needs reform, then take on that task, but don’t pretend that the internet follows some different set of laws than main street does. Free speech online is simply … free speech. If laws need to change then they should change for everyone, everywhere, online and off.
There are two issues that are unique to digital markets: cybersecurity and privacy. Cybersecurity is an obvious category in that concepts like hacking have no off-line equivalent. Laws which protect (and encourage) encryption, network hardening, and good digital hygiene could help both the private and public sectors to elevate their game and protect Americans from crooks and foreign adversaries. Privacy is unique in that the U.S. has no existing legal framework for digital to draw on. With the Supreme Court actively reworking constitutional protections in this area, there is no more critical tech sector issue for Congress to resolve. A comprehensive U.S. privacy law should be the Senate’s top digital priority.
In the weeks ahead, the EU will begin to block the transfer of personal data across the Atlantic. Their complaint is that U.S. law does not provide adequate privacy safeguards. The result is that global technology companies will need to block these transfers, if they can, or face the choice of extortionate fines or leaving the EU market to their competitors. The lack of a U.S. federal privacy law enables EU digital protectionism. Congress can fix this. It must be their top digital priority.
The framework for a U.S. privacy law is already in place, though there are tough negotiations still required. Support for the effort is uniform and bipartisan. A single, consistent set of rules for U.S. digital businesses would set American companies on an even footing with their international competitors. All we need is for the Senate to put in the work.
Maintaining America’s digital competitiveness is critical if we want to keep our economic engine running. More than just a common set of rules, a U.S. federal privacy law must respond to international competitors that are looking to handcuff U.S. companies. To respond to the EU’s plan to fine U.S. companies on global sales, a U.S. law should repatriate any EU fines that apply to U.S.-based revenues and apply it to supporting digital startups, STEM training, and generally enabling the next group of US digital leaders. It should also explicitly identify national security as outside its scope, in keeping with the EU precedent. Finally, it should apply reciprocal rules that apply to EU-based companies that do digital business in the U.S.
The U.S. Senate has an opportunity to act on a true national digital priority shared by all Americans. The people whose paychecks rely on today’s digital economy are visibly and vocally opposed to senators seeking to dismantle a system that works for them. Rather than force through poorly thought out and unpopular laws, we urge Congress to rally behind reforms which all Americans support. Stop wasting time and focus on protecting our economy, our competitiveness, and our digital privacy.
