Sens. Warren, Graham unveil plan to create agency to regulate Big Tech

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham on Thursday unveiled legislation to create a new government agency to regulate America's major tech giants and promote industry competition.

The Digital Consumer Protection Commission Act would establish a commission to work with the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, The Hill reported. Said commission would also be tasked with promoting consumer privacy and have oversight on responses to new developments such as artificial intelligence.

"Big Tech companies have far too much unrestrained power over our economy, our society and our democracy. Reining in tech giants will be hard, but it’s a fight worth fighting," Warren stated. "Today I’m announcing a bipartisan bill for a new regulator to rein in Big Tech."

"It’s time to rein in Big Tech. And we can’t do it with a law that only nibbles around the edges of the problem," Graham asserted. "Piecemeal efforts to stop abusive and dangerous practices have failed."

"Congress is too slow, it lacks the tech expertise, and the army of Big Tech lobbyists can pick off individual efforts easier than shooting fish in a barrel. Meaningful change — the change worth engaging every member of Congress to fight for — is structural," he concluded.

Big Tech platforms such as Amazon, Meta, Twitter (now rebranded as X), and Google have come under scrutiny from the political left and right alike over antitrust, consumer privacy, and censorship concerns.

Last week, the House weaponization of government panel held a hearing on censorship that addressed the government's working with such platforms to allegedly stifle disfavored viewpoints.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.