Walden Says FOSTA Example of Need for Intervention But Some Worry
The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) (HR-1865) the House passed Tuesday evening (see 1802270057) is an example of the need for government intervention in the absence of action from tech companies, said House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore. During an appearance Wednesday at an Axios event, he expressed skepticism online platforms couldn't formulate algorithms that weed out malicious actors. If private enterprise isn't responsible and doesn’t actively respond to community needs, regulation is needed, he said. “We passed a law yesterday to deal with it,” he said, while drawing parallels to alleged Russian U.S. election interference. “It’s shocking that this couldn’t have been identified before and managed differently, and that may require additional disclosure requirements,” he said, adding he would like a “light touch” in this space, but people are “demanding accountability.” Consumers want more control over their data and privacy, he said.
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The administration remains concerned about certain FOSTA provisions, said the White House, as DOJ indicated. The administration “hopes that these issues can be resolved in a final bill presented to the President for signature,” the White House said. Still, President Donald Trump applauded passage.
FOSTA will make it harder to catch bad actors and protect victims, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement, but backers in the House applauded passage. Wyden said it fails to understand the technological side effects, which will made it harder to expose sex traffickers. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said FOSTA would make the internet safer and “give victims the criminal and civil means to punish wrongdoers and move forward with their lives.”
Industry groups and a digital civil liberties group criticized the bill. The Electronic Frontier Foundation called it “an unprecedented push towards Internet censorship” that does nothing to combat sex traffickers. “Facing huge new liabilities, the law will undoubtedly lead to platforms policing more user speech,” EFF said. Internet Association CEO Michael Beckerman said the industry is committed to ending online sex trafficking, but it’s “important to protect the laws that allow the internet to thrive and empower online platforms to foster a legal and safe environment.”
On IoT, Walden said the U.S. has “just begun” to connect to the digital grid, with tens of billions of IoT devices expected to come online in the coming years. Appliances like refrigerators and coffeemakers, for instance, are going to communicate with each other, which could be revolutionary for shopping, he said. Washington’s role will be to “get out of the way of innovators,” he said, seeking "a competitive marketplace." He called Silicon Valley one of the last places in the country where businesses don’t need excessive permitting to pursue new creations.
The American Vision for Safer Transportation through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies (AV Start) Act (S-1885) is meant to advance testing and development of self-driving vehicles, said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., of a bill he co-sponsored. Peters said the U.S. needs to have a better understanding of how artificial intelligence works and ensure the technology makes beneficial decisions, based on human morals and values: That isn't addressed in the bill, he said, but it’s within the scope of the conversation.
It won’t be long before the U.S. allows self-driving cars for commercial purposes since innovation there is “moving very quickly,” Peters said. Ride-hail and commercial truck drivers will be particularly affected, he said. “I’m very concerned about that, the fact that we have 3 million truck drivers in this country.” He believes early applications will be with trucks.