Lawmakers: Facebook revelations could usher in ‘Big Tobacco moment’

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers say that testimony from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen is galvanizing members of both parties to unify behind sweeping proposals targeting social media companies, after years of stalled attempts, with some calling it the tech industry’s “Big Tobacco moment.”

“This time feels distinctly different,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, DConn., chair of the Senate Commerce consumer protection subcommittee, said in an interview. “The public has been engaged and outraged in a very different way.”

Multiple lawmakers said Ms. Haugen’s Tuesday Senate subcommittee testimony, arguing that Facebook systematically placed profits over users’ well-being, marks a turning point in Congress’ long-running efforts to enact barriers for large social media companies.

“Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have completely lost America’s trust,” Mr. Blumenthal said.

Since revelations surfaced that Russian actors exploited Facebook to spread disinformation during the 2016 election, the company has been embroiled in near constant scandal in Washington, with lawmakers pursuing a varied regulatory agenda.

But efforts to move individual bills have largely stalled, in part because Republicans and Democrats have conflicting ideas on many key tech issues. Despite years of negotiations and bipartisan concerns about data security, for example, lawmakers have been unable to even agree on a federal privacy framework.

Lawmakers previously issued promises that both Russian interference and the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal would be a turning point in rallying support for regulating tech giants. “The era of the Wild West in social media is coming to an end,” said Mark Warner, D-Va., at a hearing with executives from Facebook and Twitter more than three years ago.

But Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said at a news conference Tuesday that because of Ms. Haugen’s testimony there’s willingness to address these issues in “a bipartisan fashion.”