We’re a few months into 2024, and Issue One is staying busy as we continue our work to fix our broken political system and build an inclusive democracy that works for everyone.
Here are some highlights from April:
Tech Reform:
We released a new analysis that detailed social media giants’ first-quarter lobbying spending and showed how Meta, ByteDance, and others have expanded their influence operations during this time frame. Meta spent a record $7.64 million on lobbying during the first quarter of 2024 — more than it has spent in any single quarter since it first started lobbying in 2009. Check out the other findings!
Last week, a bill was passed that could ban TikTok in the U.S. if the app isn’t sold by its parent company, ByteDance, within, at most, the next year. In response to the news, Issue One Founder and CEO Nick Penniman issued a statement on what the legislation means for U.S. national security.
Nick also wrote an op-ed that ran in The Hill about Section 230 and the need to alter the provision that was crafted nearly 30 years ago and that has remained untouched since then.
Exciting news: The Kids Online Safety Act was introduced in the House this month! We’re seeing growing momentum for this critical piece of legislation that would help bolster kids’ safety online, addressing the harmful social media business model by placing the health and well-being of minor users over advertising revenue. Read our statement applauding the introduction!
Election Protection Efforts:
Watch the National Council on Election Integrity (NCEI) co-chairs highlight what makes America a beacon of democracy to the world — we decide who our leaders are, and when we transfer power, we do it peacefully.
Following the joint news conference between Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and former President Trump about noncitizens voting, NCEI member former Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) and our Director of Election Protection Carah Ong Whaley issued a statement about how this is a nonexistent problem and saying otherwise casts doubt on our free and fair elections.
We’ve been featuring election workers from across the country to highlight the work they do on behalf of our democracy. Check out the latest installment of our Meet the Faces of Democracy Q&A series — a conversation with Tate Fall, the elections director in Cobb County, Georgia!
As we continue to call for more federal funding of elections, Nick wrote a piece for our Substack about how election security is linked to national security. He also appeared on C-SPAN Washington Journal where he discussed these topics and fielded questions from callers.
ICYMI: The U.S. House Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) was disbanded. Read what ReFormers Caucus Co-chairs Amb. Tim Roemer (D-IN) and Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN), as well as our Legislative Associate Joshua Bonet, had to say in response to the ODI closing its doors.
Issue One is the leading crosspartisan political reform group in Washington. We unite Republicans, Democrats, and independents in the movement to fix our broken political system.
