Following the recent congressional hearing where Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen shed light on the ways in which the social media company promoted company growth over implementing safeguards to protect consumers, major public concern has grown around the use of AI without adequate regulations. In response, Nick Chegg, Vice President of Global Affairs at Facebook, spoke out in favor of stronger regulations. As this Huffington Post article outlines, Facebook is willing to create new safeguards to protect children from the harm that their algorithms have caused. However, many observers think that online platforms are unlikely to fundamentally change their business models without regulation to incentivize further adjustments.
Meanwhile, Congress is working to regulate how online platforms are held accountable for the content published by their users. Last week, Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) penned the Justice Against Malicious Algorithms Act, which would remove the existing protections websites have against liability under Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act. Doing this would hold companies accountable that continue to ignore the risks associated with their algorithms.