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Big Tech is tracking your every move. From your conversations with friends and family that you thought were private, to your online searches across the internet and shopping history, and even your current location. Many of these companies are monetizing that data and weaponizing it to erode your agency, your rights, and your identity. Below are five ways Big Tech, data brokers, and other bad actors in the information ecosystem are collecting and exploiting your personal information: “A six-year span of internal Google reports, unearthed by 404 Media, exposes a troubling array of privacy breaches affecting everything from children's voice data to the home addresses of unsuspecting carpool users.”  […]  “This internal database, not previously exposed to the public eye, catalogs various incidents ranging from trivial mishaps—like an inadvertently sent email containing sensitive personal information—to major security lapses, including significant data leaks and even potential raids on Google’s own offices.”  […]  “This breach, which left sensitive data like geolocation information and IP addresses accessible via the platform’s page source, lingered undetected for more than a year, affecting numerous users, including children.” “Almost no one was surprised that Google Maps accessed location information, for example, but respondents had a strong negative reaction when they learned that the “Brightest Flashlight” app tracked their location, said Jason Hong, an associate professor at school.” […] “Of the top 100 Android apps, 56 collected location information, device identifiers and/or contact lists, according to the university’s research. Users, however, often had no idea such data was being collected or how it might be used.” “Every minute of every day, everywhere on the planet, dozens of companies—largely unregulated, little scrutinized—are logging the movements of tens of millions of people with mobile phones and storing the information in gigantic data files." […]  “If you could see the full trove, you might never use your phone the same way again." […]  “You’ve probably never heard of most of the companies—and yet to anyone who has access to this data, your life is an open book. ”  […]  “… this file represents just a small slice of what’s collected and sold every day by the location tracking industry— surveillance so omnipresent in our digital lives that it now seems impossible for anyone to avoid.”  […]  “Within America’s own representative democracy, citizens would surely rise up in outrage if the government attempted to mandate that every person above the age of 12 carry a tracking device that revealed their location 24 hours a day .”  […]  “Now, as the decade ends, tens of millions of Americans, including many children, find themselves carrying spies in their pockets during the day and leaving them beside their beds at night — even though the corporations that control their data are far less accountable than the government would be.”  […]  “In absence of a federal privacy law, the industry has largely relied on self-regulation.” “Facebook, for example, collects location-related information aside from your phone’s GPS. It still tracks where you are through IP addresses, ‘check-ins or events you attend.  “Twitter also ‘requires’ information about your current location, ‘which we get from signals such as your IP address or device settings.’ This is so it can ‘securely and reliably set up and maintain your account.’” […]  “… the data that dating app Tinder collects is shared with other members of the Match Group…”  […]  “Facebook even tracks what you do when you’re not signed into it – or when you don’t have an account.” “You know you have a credit score. Did you know that you might also have a driving score?”  […]  “‘ No one who realizes what they’re doing would consent ,’ said Kathleen Lomax, a New Jersey mother who recently canceled her subscription to Life360 when she found out this was happening.”  […]  “Insurers are also getting driving data directly from people’s cars.”  […]  “But any car with an internet connection, which most modern cars have, can send data back to the automaker.” The American Privacy Rights Act is Here to Help Most people are unaware about what happens with the data that is collected from them. Americans don’t trust Big Tech and other companies that are exploiting their personal data to target and manipulate people. The American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) is needed to give Americans a unified set of privacy rights.  The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, led by Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), is fighting to ensure that Americans are protected from exploitation, including from Big Tech, data brokers, and other bad actors in the big data business. APRA creates a comprehensive, national data privacy standard to ensure that all Americans are protected.   APRA puts all Americans back in control of their personal data, protecting them and their kids. By minimizing the amount of data that can be collected, processed, retained, and transferred, Americans will have the right to control where their personal information goes and can ensure that Big Tech, data brokers, and other bad actors are held accountable. 

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) announced a Communications and Technology Subcommittee legislative hearing titled “Legislative Proposal to Sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act."  “For years, lawmakers have made efforts to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, but have faced relentless opposition. Failure to revisit and reform this law is both irresponsible and untenable. We look forward to hearing from experts and stakeholders as we discuss the future of Section 230 and consider draft legislation that would sunset the decades-old law and force Congress and stakeholders to work together in good faith to develop a long-term solution—one that both preserves the ability to innovate while also ensuring safety and accountability for the harms platforms pose.”  Subcommittee on Communications and Technology legislative hearing titled “Legislative Proposal to Sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act."   WHAT: A hearing to discuss legislation to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.    DATE: Wednesday, May 22, 2024   TIME: 10:00 AM ET   LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building   Legislative proposals to be considered: H.R. __ , legislative proposal to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 This notice is at the direction of the Chair. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at https://energycommerce.house.gov/ . If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Noah Jackson at Noah.Jackson@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Sean Kelly at Sean.Kelly@mail.house.gov .

“Our measure aims to restore the internet’s intended purpose.” Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today unveiled bipartisan draft legislation to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. As laid out in the Leaders’ opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal , the legislation seeks to encourage Congress and stakeholders to work together over the next 18 months to evaluate and enact a new legal framework that will allow for free speech and innovation while also incentivizing these companies to be good stewards of their platforms. Excerpts from The Wall Street Journal op-ed by Chair Rodgers and Ranking Member Pallone: The internet’s original promise was to help people and businesses connect, innovate and share information. Congress passed the Communications Decency Act in 1996 to realize those goals. It was an overwhelming success. Section 230 of the act helped shepherd the internet from the “you’ve got mail” era into today’s global nexus of communication and commerce. Unfortunately, Section 230 is now poisoning the healthy online ecosystem it once fostered. Big Tech companies are exploiting the law to shield them from any responsibility or accountability as their platforms inflict immense harm on Americans, especially children. Congress’s failure to revisit this law is irresponsible and untenable. That is why we’re taking bipartisan action. [...] Over the years lawmakers have tried to no avail to address these concerns, thanks in part to Big Tech’s refusal to engage in a meaningful way. Congress has made good-faith efforts to find a solution that preserves Big Tech’s ability to innovate and ensures safety and accountability for past and future harm. It’s time to make that a reality, which is why we are unveiling today bipartisan draft legislation to sunset Section 230. Our measure aims to restore the internet’s intended purpose—to be a force for free expression, prosperity and innovation. It would require Big Tech and others to work with Congress over 18 months to evaluate and enact a new legal framework that will allow for free speech and innovation while also encouraging these companies to be good stewards of their platforms. Our bill gives Big Tech a choice: Work with Congress to ensure the internet is a safe, healthy place for good, or lose Section 230 protections entirely. CLICK HERE to read the full op-ed. CLICK HERE to read the bipartisan discussion draft legislation.

How It Happened The days of our foreign adversaries using applications to target, surveil, and manipulate the American people are numbered. Yesterday, thanks to the bipartisan efforts of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, as well as many other Members of the House, H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act , was signed into law. TikTok now has a clear choice: Separate from its parent company ByteDance—which is beholden to the CCP—and remain operational in the United States, or side with the CCP and face the consequences. TikTok is on the clock. As Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said last month, “Foreign adversaries, like the Chinese Communist Party, pose the greatest national security threat of our time. TikTok’s access to 177 million American users makes it a valuable propaganda tool for the CCP to exploit.” She also said, “Companies controlled by a foreign adversary, like the CCP, will NEVER embrace American values like freedom of speech, human rights, the rule of law, and a free press. If given the choice, they will always choose the path for more control, more surveillance, and more manipulation.” With this bill, the United States has sent a clear message to the Chinese Communist Party that we will no longer tolerate our adversaries weaponizing our freedoms against us. Here’s how we got here: MARCH 23, 2023 Chair Rodgers called TikTok CEO Shou Chew to appear before the committee to testify on TikTok’s consumer privacy and data security practices, the platforms’ impact on kids, and its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party. This was Chew’s first appearance before a congressional committee. At our hearing, it was clear that TikTok was beholden to the Chinese Communist Party and could not be trusted to safeguard American data. APRIL 14, 2023 Chair Rodgers, Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) sent a letter to the Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the Department of Commerce imploring him to speak out against TikTok at the annual Global Ethics Summit. In the letter the leaders said, “You have an ethical responsibility to tell the audience of this summit and the American people of TikTok’s threats to our national security and privacy, and to further expose how Mr. Chew failed to be completely transparent to Congress.” MARCH 5, 2024 After nearly a year of bipartisan efforts, H.R. 7521 was formally introduced in the House with 20 cosponsors. Upon introduction of the bill, the Energy and Commerce Committee officially noticed a bipartisan Committee hearing, as well as a markup. MARCH 7, 2024 The Committee’s classified hearing with members of the intelligence community, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence made clear the dangers posed by applications that are controlled by foreign adversaries and the need to take action. Later that day, the Energy and Commerce Committee marked up and unanimously passed H.R. 7521 to stop foreign adversaries, like the Chinese Communist Party, from targeting, surveilling, and manipulating Americans. MARCH 13, 2024: The House of Representatives then passed H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act , with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 352-65. April 20, 2024 This past weekend, the House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act, which included H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act . April 23, 2024 Tuesday evening, just three days after the House of Representatives , the Senate passed the legislation as well, “delivering a historic rebuke of the video-sharing platform’s Chinese ownership after years of failed attempts to tackle the app’s alleged national security risks.” April 24, 2024 The bill was signed into law by President Biden on April 24, 2024, starting the clock on TikTok’s requirement to divest from CCP-controlled ByteDance.

Tune in to the Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee Legislative Hearing on Proposals to Protect People Online Meet Ava Smithing.   A Nashville, Tennessee-native, she grew up playing volleyball, including at the Stevens Institute of Technology where she earned her Bachelor’s in Business Administration in 2023.  She’s now among those leading the charge to ensure that Americans—especially young people—can use social media platforms without being targeted or manipulated.   In her role as Director of Advocacy at the Young People’s Alliance, Ava is stepping up to confront a challenge that she and so many other young people face today: social media companies exploiting Americans’ mental health.  Big Tech platforms collected and then weaponized Ava’s data—like her age, location, and gender—against her. According to Ava, “they used my data to infer what other types of ads and content I might ‘like,’ leading me down a pipeline from bikini ads, to exercise videos, to dieting tips, and finally to eating disorder content.”  By monitoring her post engagements and what she spent time viewing, social media companies could track Ava’s vulnerabilities. These platforms were able to drive her into a downward spiral that resulted in a threat to her well-being. In her case, watching one video for just a little too long encouraged the algorithm to funnel harmful content into Ava’s feed.  Ava says, “How was I—a 14-year-old child—supposed to understand that social media platforms would use my age, location, and gender to target me with advertisements designed to instill insecurity in me?”  Today, Ava is flipping the script. As an advocate, she is leading to promote kids’ safety online through a national data privacy standard so people can control their data and be protected from manipulative algorithms.  Last week, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced a comprehensive data privacy bill, the American Privacy Rights Act.    Support for establishing privacy rights has more momentum than ever, in no small part because people like Ava are speaking up about the consequences of companies’ unchecked power.  Among its protections, the American Privacy Rights Act will establish the ability for users opt-out of targeted advertising. Ava said that if such an option existed when she first joined social media, she may never have been put in harm’s way.  The bill also requires companies to review their algorithms to ensure they do not endanger children through malicious content suggestions. This will stop the downward spiral that exploits so many children online.  The Energy and Commerce Committee is holding a legislative hearing at 10:00 AM today to consider proposals to protect kids online and advance strong comprehensive data privacy protections. Ava Smithing will highlight why these proposals are critical for Americans who want to use the internet without being targeted and manipulated by the sites they visit. Be sure to tune in! 

Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-OH) announced a hearing titled “Where Are We Now: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.”  “Section 230 has not been meaningfully updated since the Communications Decency Act of 1996, even though Big Tech companies and others facilitating user-generated content have become increasingly integrated into our everyday lives. The growth and influence of these companies has raised concerns about how best to ensure Big Tech remains transparent and accountable to the American people. Section 230 immunity has been challenged in the courts, but the law remains the same, despite the evolution of the tech marketplace. This hearing will provide an opportunity to reexamine the purpose of Section 230 and discuss what Congress can do to bring this law into the 21st Century.”  Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing titled “Where Are We Now: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.”   WHAT: A hearing to discuss the future of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.   DATE: Thursday, April 11, 2024  TIME: 1:00 PM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building  This notice is at the direction of the Chair. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at https://energycommerce.house.gov/ . If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Noah Jackson at Noah.Jackson@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Sean Kelly at Sean.Kelly@mail.house.gov . 

“Break up with the Chinese Communist Party, or break up with the U.S.” The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board is out with a new piece on why Congress must pass H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which protects Americans from the national security threats posed by CCP-controlled TikTok . Check out excerpts and highlights below:  The House on Wednesday is expected to vote on a bill that would give popular social-media app TikTok an ultimatum: Break up with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or break up with the U.S. It didn’t need to come to this, but Beijing and TikTok’s Chinese-owner ByteDance left Washington with no choice. […] Donald Trump tried in 2020 to force ByteDance to divest TikTok, but his executive order was blocked in court, partly because the President lacked clear authority from Congress. Legislation by Wisconsin Republican Mike Gallagher and Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi aims to overcome the legal obstacles.   Their bill would ban TikTok from app stores and web-hosting services in the U.S. if the company doesn’t divest from ByteDance. It also establishes a process by which the President can prohibit other social-media apps that are “controlled by a foreign adversary.” The bill is narrowly tailored while giving the President tools to combat future threats.   Banning TikTok should be a last resort, but ByteDance and Beijing have demonstrated that they can’t be trusted. Reams of evidence show how the Chinese government can use the platform for cyber-espionage and political influence campaigns in the U.S.   […]   TikTok’s other major security risk is cyber-espionage. The app vacuums up sensitive American user information, including searches, browsing histories and locations. This data can and does flow back to China. “Everything is seen in China,” a TikTok official said in a leaked internal recording reported by Buzzfeed.   ByteDance employees tried to uncover internal leakers by spying on American journalists. After this surveillance was reported, ByteDance blamed “misconduct of certain individuals” who were no longer employed. But there’s nothing to stop CCP puppets in ByteDance back-offices from spying on Americans.   […]   Chinese law requires ByteDance to comply with Beijing’s surveillance demands. This is why there’s no way to mitigate TikTok’s security risks besides a forced divestment. U.S. investors have expressed interest in buying TikTok, though a Chinese government official last year said it would block a sale. If TikTok is banned, users can blame Beijing.   […]   In any case, the House bill doesn’t restrict First Amendment rights. It regulates national security. It also has ample precedent since U.S. law restricts foreign ownership of broadcast stations. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States forced the Chinese owners of Grindr, the gay dating app, to give up control of the company.   China has blocked U.S. social-media companies that don’t comply with its censorship regime, and the House bill would prevent Beijing from applying its political speech controls and surveillance in the U.S. Despite America’s political divisions, this ought to be a shared goal.   CLICK HERE to read the full piece from the WSJ Editorial Board.  CLICK HERE to learn more about H.R. 7521. CLICK HERE to read what experts and top voices are saying.

Ahead of the House’s expected consideration of H.R. 7521 tomorrow, here’s the truth about how the bill protects Americans from the national security threat posed by applications controlled by foreign adversaries:  Claim: H.R. 7521 bans TikTok in the United States.  Rating: FALSE.   As long as TikTok divests from its parent company ByteDance, which is beholden to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), TikTok can continue to operate in the United States without interruption. TikTok can choose to protect their American users, or they can side with the CCP. The choice to end Americans use of its platform is strictly TikTok’s.  Claim: H.R. 7521 is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment.  Rating: FALSE.   The bill does not regulate speech. It is focused entirely on the ownership of an application by a foreign adversary country—not the content of speech it hosts. The bill provides a clear path for TikTok to continue its operations as long as it resolves the national security risks posed by its ownership structure.  Claim: H.R. 7521 violates the Constitution’s Bill of Attainder Clause.  Rating: FALSE.   The bill does not run afoul of the Constitution’s Bill of Attainder Clause. The case law here is clear. H.R. 7521 takes an appropriate step to protect America’s national security interests in a forward looking and ongoing way. Further, this bill does not apply solely to TikTok—it applies to other applications that are controlled by a foreign adversary of the United States, now and in the future. Claim: TikTok is not controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.   Rating: FALSE.   The People’s Republic of China (PRC) National Intelligence Law of 2017 requires PRC individuals and entities to support PRC intelligence services. Beijing Bytedance Technology is a Chinese internet technology company headquartered in Beijing. It is operating in the United States through a holding company, Bytedance Ltd, which is the parent company of TikTok. TikTok was used to spy on American journalists and surveil American user data. Internal TikTok recordings revealed, “everything is seen in China.” Former TikTok employees have attested ByteDance is closely involved in the company’s decision-making and product development.  Claim: TikTok is no different than any other social media app.  Rating: FALSE.   TikTok is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party through its parent company, ByteDance. A recent Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) report showed that the CCP was using TikTok to target political candidates and influence the 2022 election cycle. Internal TikTok recordings have revealed “everything is seen in China” and the CCP “maintained supreme access” to TikTok’s data. If nations that want to undermine America can access and manipulate Americans’ data through a specific app, that poses a unique threat and requires a narrow and targeted response. Claim: This will allow the President to prohibit any app for any reason.  Rating: FALSE.   This bill DOES NOT empower the Executive Branch to define “foreign adversary” and prohibit any apps owned by its own definition of “foreign adversary.” The bill defines a foreign adversary-controlled application as subject to the control of China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea. Only Congress can change the definition used in this bill. This is not a blank check for the Biden administration, or future administrations, to restrict whatever apps it wants.  Claim: TikTok is already separating itself from China through Project Texas.  Rating: FALSE.   TikTok’s “Project Texas” would continue to allow personnel in Beijing to access U.S. user data. After promising to wall off American users’ data, this data continues to be accessible from inside China. TikTok personnel have thrown cold water on the idea that U.S. users’ data will be adequately protected under any new arrangement. TikTok’s own Project Texas employees say ByteDance managers continue to request U.S. data. Many of the Project Texas data protections have devolved into what one employee called “a wink and a nod.”  Claim: This bill will hurt small businesses and content creators.  Rating: FALSE.   If TikTok is not divested from ByteDance, TikTok must allow its creators and users to extract all of their account data. This ensures that creators and users retain their content and can move to a different platform. Furthermore, if TikTok actually cared about small businesses and content creators on its platform like they claim, they would divest and remain operational in the United States.  Claim: H.R. 7521 applies to all social media companies or websites.  Rating: FALSE.   The bill does NOT apply to all websites. It only applies to applications and websites controlled by a foreign adversary—China, Russia, Iran, North Korea—that pose a clear national security threat.

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) today called on Alphabet, Meta, X, and TikTok to brief the Committee on their moderation policies regarding the spread of illegal content posted by Hamas to glorify their human rights abuses. Excerpts below from the exclusive coverage by Fox News : House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers is calling for a briefing from social media companies on content moderation policies regarding the spread of "illegal content" posted by Hamas amid the deadly terror attacks in Israel. McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., sent requests to government affairs representatives for Alphabet, Meta, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok to brief committee staff by Oct. 20. CLICK HERE to read the full story. Chair Rodgers released the following statement: “I’m calling on Big Tech companies to brief the Energy and Commerce Committee on how they are enforcing their moderation policies and community standards surrounding the war in Israel. Big Tech must take its responsibility seriously to expose the world to the pure evil of Hamas terrorists and to make sure their platforms aren’t breeding grounds for more terrorist activity. Specifically, these companies must provide transparency and answers for how they are monitoring and removing illegal content posted by Hamas for recruitment, to spread propaganda, to livestream murders and the torture of hostages, and to organize more terrorist activities.   “This is an urgent matter and we expect full transparency from Big Tech. We continue to pray for peace, protection, and justice for Israel.”