My Tech Reform Agenda

This is a deepfake: without regulation of big tech, telling fact from fiction will become impossible.

I decided to speak openly about my career at Google because the story is bigger than my own experience. And it’s bigger than Google.

The role of tech companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter in our daily lives — from how we run our elections, to how we share news, to how we entertain our children — is far too great to leave in the hands of executives who are motivated by corporate profits and stock prices.

American tech companies are confronting profound questions of privacy, democracy, and human rights — with little to no oversight from the U.S. government. It’s time to elect leaders to Congress who understand technology and who are willing to stand up for Americans’ rights and ideals.

I’m running for the U.S. Senate to represent my home state of Maine. More than 80,000 Maine households still lack high-speed internet access. Those are students and families who are being left out of the 21st century economy — that’s not right and it’s not acceptable.

Congress has not only neglected its oversight of tech companies, it has neglected its responsibility to ensure that the benefits of technology and the digital economy reach all Americans.

For too long, tech companies have lobbied their friends in Congress to avoid meaningful regulation and oversight. The companies have claimed that “self regulation” is the best way to ensure they meet their legal and ethical obligations. But time and time again, the companies have failed — whether it’s keeping human trafficking off their sites, preventing foreign governments from interfering in our elections, or ensuring their platforms are free of hate speech.

I’m proposing ten reform principles to help guide public debate on technology regulation. I’ve developed these principles after working on technology issues for more than 15 years and serving in government for close to 8 years — from working for Senators George Mitchell and Ted Kennedy, to teaching technology policy at both Georgetown and George Washington Universities, to my years at Google.

I don’t have all the answers, as you can see from the principles. But we must have a public debate about the benefits as well as the very pressing challenges of the internet and technology, and ensure that our government leaders have the expertise to not only participate in the conversation, but also to lead in the development of solutions — including meaningful regulation where it is necessary. I encourage readers to share their reactions and their own ideas in the comments.

HIGHLIGHTS (Read the full agenda here)

1. HIGH SPEED INTERNET FOR ALL. High speed internet is the infrastructure of the future and must be available to all Americans at affordable rates, including those living in rural areas. In Maine, more than 80,000 homes lack high-speed internet access — those students and families are being left out of the 21st century economy. In 2005, I wrote one of the first comprehensive plans in the nation to increase internet coverage in California, and I’m committed to increasing internet connectivity across Maine.
2. PRIORITIZE AMERICAN WORKERS. Our economy and our workers are facing a tidal wave of job losses due to automation and artificial intelligence. A projected 20 million manufacturing jobs will be lost in the next ten years globally. The federal government must develop a comprehensive strategy for addressing these changes. We must prioritize helping displaced workers find new, better paying jobs that will not only give them and their families a better life, and also meet the current and future needs of our state, our country and our economy.
3. SECURE AMERICANS’ PRIVACY. Americans generate valuable data about themselves and their activities every day while using their computers, phones and tablets. In fact, more than 90% of all the data in the world was produced in just the past two years. This data is collected, used, stored and often sold by internet, technology and communications companies — with little oversight or consumer protections. The U.S. Congress must make clear that Americans 1) own their own data, 2) have a right to full transparency about what user data a company collects and how it uses that data, 3) have the right to decide if and how their own data is collected and used, and 4) are entitled to a share in profits from the sale of their data (a “data dividend”).
4. PROMOTE DIGITAL EDUCATION and DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP. The internet, mobile devices, and applications are central to the lives of most teenagers and even younger children. In fact, a recent study found that teens spend an average of 7 hours and 22 minutes per day watching videos, playing video games, and using social media. It is vital to American democracy and continued American economic leadership that we prepare our students to be digital citizens. That means equipping all 50 states with resources needed to teach students computer science, as well as how to check sources, verify information and counteract bullying online.
5. DEFEND AGAINST CYBERATTACKS and ELECTIONS INTERFERENCE. The United States must develop and fully fund a comprehensive national strategy to ensure the security of our citizens, economy, critical infrastructure, and our elections. American corporations also must be held responsible for breaches to their networks and attacks that threaten our democracy, through increased fines and other penalties. Finally, we must ensure our voter data and voting machines are secure, and we must regulate political advertising online.
6. PROTECT CONSUMERS and THE FREE MARKET. It is imperative that the federal government — through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice — closely examines technology companies’ influence on the American economy to ensure that consumers are benefiting from free and fair competition.
7. ADVANCE CIVIL and HUMAN RIGHTS. One of the most critically important roles of our government is to protect and promote the civil rights and the human rights of every individual. Yet, too often technology companies have put profits ahead of principles. The U.S. Congress should 1) enact legislation requiring every company with over $5 million in revenue to designate an officer responsible for civil and human rights compliance and 2) protect tech company “whistleblowers” and establish a “technology whistleblower unit” at the Federal Trade Commission to review employee complaints and pursue appropriate remedies.
8. SAFEGUARD AMERICA’S CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY and INFRASTRUCTURE. The U.S. Congress must ensure that any technology that could be weaponized, or used for surveillance, elections interference, criminal activities or to violate human rights must never be permitted to fall into the hands of malicious actors, including foreign-owned businesses or governments identified as hostile to U.S. interests and human rights by the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce.
9. PREVENT ABUSE OF AI, FACIAL RECOGNITION and DEEPFAKES. We must pass federal legislation that regulates the commercial and government use of facial recognition technology and deepfakes. The use of deepfakes in political advertising must be prohibited.
10. GUARANTEE A FAIR MARKET THROUGH NET and PLATFORM NEUTRALITY. We must pass federal net neutrality legislation to ensure that Americans decide for themselves what they see, read and do online. It is also time for us to consider legislation requiring platform neutrality, given the role that just a handful of powerful tech platforms now have as gateways to the internet.

Read the full agenda at www.RossforMaine.com