On November 1, five senators — John Thune (R-SD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Mark Warner (D-VA) — introduced the Filter Bubble Transparency Act. The bill would require that online companies that collect data from more than one million users and gross more than $50 million annually become more transparent, allowing users to see content that “has not been curated as a result of a secret algorithm.” It would also make it easier for users to better understand the manipulation that may be baked into the algorithms that feed them information in their search and news feeds. Senator Blackburn noted that when “individuals log onto a website, they are not expecting the platform to have chosen for them what information is most important,” and that the “legislation would give consumers the choice to decide whether they want to use the algorithm or view content in the order it was posted.” Read more.
Members of the News/Media Alliance staff have contributed to this post.
