{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=72FF38AA-63F5-42A1-8122-7862E0911C3B", "Thune Applauds Senate Passage of His Big Tech Transparency Bill", "2024-07-30", "2024", "2024-07", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, today applauded the passage of his bipartisan Filter Bubble Transparency Act, which was included in a larger bill to address kids\u2019 safety on the internet, led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Thune\u2019s bill would make it easier for internet platform users to understand the potential manipulation that exists with secret algorithms and require large-scale platforms to allow those users to consume information outside of that potential manipulation zone or \u201cfilter bubble.\u201d It would essentially mandate that large Big Tech platforms, including Meta, provide an algorithm-free option for users to consume information in an unmanipulated form.\n\n\u201cConsumers deserve more transparency when it comes to how social media and other internet platforms use algorithms to amplify or suppress content on their services,\u201d said Thune. \u201cThis bill helps consumers better understand how algorithms are used to select content in their \u2018feed\u2019 and gives users more control over what information they are digesting. I applaud the Senate\u2019s strong bipartisan passage of my bill, and I hope the House of Representatives considers it in short order.\u201d\n\nThe Filter Bubble Transparency Act would require large-scale internet platforms to disclose algorithm use to consumers and allow users to view content that has not been curated as a result of a secret algorithm. The bill would also make it unlawful for any person to operate a covered internet platform that uses a secret algorithm unless the platform complies with the two above requirements. The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the legislation\u2019s requirements, and it would be authorized to seek civil penalties for knowing violations.\n\nThune first introduced the legislation in 2019 and reintroduced it during the 117th Congress. In July 2023, the Commerce Committee unanimously approved his legislation. In June 2019, Thune led a hearing entitled, \u201cOptimizing for Engagement: Understanding the Use of Persuasive Technology on Internet Platforms,\u201d where he pressed technology experts, including current and former Google employees, on how algorithmic decision-making and machine learning on internet platforms influences the public. In December 2021, Thune helped lead a subcommittee hearing titled, \u201cDisrupting Dangerous Algorithms: Addressing the Harms of Persuasive Technology,\u201d where he questioned industry experts on Big Tech\u2019s use of persuasive technology.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:32:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=72FF38AA-63F5-42A1-8122-7862E0911C3B"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.461446052417159, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}