John, With Congress citing data security as its motive to force the sale of TikTok, other social media companies are beginning to take action to maintain the status quo. A recent report from Issue One found that social media companies are spending more money on lobbying than ever before. Meta spent $7.64 million on lobbying during the first quarter of 2024, a 66 percent increase over their first quarter spending in 2023, and has employed one lobbyist for every eight members of Congress. TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, meanwhile, increased its spending on Capitol Hill by nearly 75 percent from this time last year, when they faced another effort by Congress to ban the app. Meta, OpenAI, Google, Amazon, and others have taken control of the internet, the dominant medium of all modern communication and commerce. They have used that control to create and sell databases of personal information of all Americans and to promote and amplify dangerous disinformation and violence, as we saw during the January 6th insurrection. This has created a grave threat to our democracy and our people. That’s why we need the Big Tech Accountability Act. This model legislation, drafted by Free Speech For People, is designed to hold social media companies accountable for engaging in targeted amplification of disinformation and threats of violence on their online platforms for profit, as well as to protect online personal privacy and freedom against commercial exploitation. Tell Congress: Hold Big Tech accountable. American online privacy laws are wildly out of date, leaving states to pick up the slack. The federal government’s inaction has not only given Big Tech companies unprecedented access to a wealth of user data, but it has backfired with the rise of algorithms that have promoted disinformation and violence for the sake of profit. With the internet now being an integral part of society and the primary mode of communication for millions of people nationwide, we must ensure that Americans have control over their personal data and that social media companies are held accountable when they engage in targeted amplification and threats of violence on their platforms. Sign our petition and show your support for the Big Tech Accountability Act. In solidarity,
Free Speech For People | 
