This article was authored by former IDDP Policy Fellow Anna Lenhart.
For decades, the U.S. Congress has been unable to pass comprehensive online platform regulation. While Congress has stalled, the European Union (EU) and U.S. states have charged ahead. The EU has enacted comprehensive regulatory frameworks such as the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA), the Digital Services Act (DSA), and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and U.S. states have introduced issue-specific regulations.
The EU2States pathway proposed here leverages international standards (loosely defined as a document or technical protocol written and maintained by a multistakeholder organization), the EU’s market size and propensity to center fundamental rights, and the global nature of the internet to protect consumers in the U.S. The path begins with provisions of Europe’s laws well suited for standardization informing the work of international standards organizations, and ends with U.S. state laws and regulations referencing those international standards. The specifics for each standard (risk assessments, ad libraries, transparency reporting, photo sharing portability APIs, researcher APIs, etc.) will vary. They will also face a range of challenges, but close monitoring, engagement and encouragement from civil society, academics, and funders could lead to thoughtful platform regulation in the United States.
Read the article in Just Security.