The Senates secret algorithms bill doesnt actually fight secret algorithms

Politicians sometimes exaggerate the laws they’re proposing. But when they start making up new sections of a bill from whole cloth, something has gone wrong. In the case of the Filter Bubble Transparency Act, it’s not just spin; it’s an example of how badly defined buzzwords can make it impossible to address the internet’s problems.

The Filter Bubble Transparency Act (FBTA) is sponsored by some of the Senate’s most prominent tech industry critics, including Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and John Thune (R-SD). Introduced last week, the bill is named after Eli Pariser’s 2011 book The Filter Bubble, which argues that companies like Facebook create digital echo chambers by optimizing content for what each person already engages with.

The FBTA...

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