Recommendation

Congress should establish a bipartisan U.S. Digital Single Market Commission to draft legislation to foster a single digital market in the United States.

Details

In many areas of digital policy, states have passed or considered legislation that imposes barriers to innovation. The cost of compliance is high, the process of compliance is needlessly complex, and consumers’ rights vary from state to state. Federal preemption on these issues would reduce costs to businesses, reduce confusion for businesses and consumers, and make progress toward a U.S. digital single market. To achieve this objective, Congress should form a bipartisan U.S. Digital Single Market Commission to draft legislation for areas for federal preemption, focusing on digital issues that affect interstate commerce, such as e-commerce regulation, digital taxation, and children’s online safety. Congress should also pass a moratorium on state children’s online safety legislation with a five-year sunset clause if Congress does not pass federal legislation based on recommendations from the U.S. Digital Single Market Commission.

Keep reading:

▪ Ash Johnson, “How Congress Can Foster a Digital Single Market in America” (ITIF, February 2024), https://itif.org/publications/2024/02/20/how-congress-can-foster-a-digital-single-market-in-america/.