Internet

A growing proliferation of antitrust regulations, content-moderation requirements, data-localization mandates, digital service taxes, exorbitant fines and fees, and local content requirements reveals a clear pattern: They are designed to unfairly burden and extract revenue from American Big Tech.

South Korea stands at a crossroads as its restrictive “positive regulation” and “shadow regulations” stifle innovation in AI, crypto, and mobility tech, allowing China to race ahead. Korea must modernize this framework or risk losing its position as a global innovation leader.

There is still time to adjust the COPPA Rule to better protect children and empower parents without imposing unnecessary burdens on businesses and users.

A well-calibrated approach that prevents Chinese companies like Shein and Temu from exploiting loopholes while incentivizing compliance and supporting vetted sellers on U.S. platforms would best serve U.S. economic and strategic interests.

Senators reintroduced the Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA), which has many flaws, namely that it complicates compliance for platforms that already disallow children below age 13 and limits users’ ability to fully customize their online experience.

Congress needs to step in to prevent a patchwork of state age-verification laws and establish a child-flag system that would better balance adults' access to legal content versus children's access to material intended for mature audiences.

As part of the ongoing backlash against “Big Tech,” policymakers from both sides of the aisle and various stakeholders have raised a host of issues with social media ranging from potential harm to children to the alleged death of democracy.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez excoriated social media companies for a litany of harms in his Davos keynote, and above all for “harming the liberal order and the democratic system.” But the most startling thing was his proposed solution: radical reforms that would fundamentally curtail digital freedoms online.

By streamlining compliance costs, clarifying definitions, and easing the extraterritorial scope of the legislation, the Cyberspace Administration of China can foster a more business-friendly environment while still ensuring data security for personal information.

Rob Atkinson appeared on the POLITICO Tech podcast to discuss President Trump's initial executive orders aimed at the tech sector and why the industry should still have its guard up.