United States of America: Introduced Bill to Support Research About the Impact of Digital Communication Platforms on Society (Platform Accountability and Transparency Act/S 1876)

On 8 June 2023, the Bill to Support Research About the Impact of Digital Communication Platforms on Society (Platform Accountability and Transparency Act/S 1876) was introduced in the United States Senate. The Act reintroduces the provisions outlined in the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (S 797) which was rejected after failing to pass before the 117th Congress adjourned in January 2023. The Act aims to increase transparency and would require social media companies with over 50 million monthly users to share data with the public and researchers to enable the study of their impact on children, families, national security and society. The Act would establish mechanisms for researchers to access data and the legal protections for data accessed and require platforms to disclose data on viral content, advertising, algorithms and content moderation.