The Republican Party has asserted that big IT companies aren’t doing enough to prevent the spread of illegal drugs on the internet.
The Republican majority in the House of Representatives set out to do more for families and parents in 2019.
After the Republicans take control of Congress in January, new House Energy and Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers told Fox News Digital that the country’s largest internet businesses are in for a harsh awakening.
McMorris Rodgers stated, “I have heard too many testimonials, first-hand experiences of parents who have lost their children to fentanyl because opiates acquired online.” The entire IT industry should do more to keep criminals from abusing its services.
To look into the rise of illegal drug sales on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, a Republican from Washington state, has promised oversight hearings. According to McMorris Rodgers, the hearings will focus on the drug trade and how Big Tech is failing to curb it.
Attorney General McMorris Rodgers said that the federal government was not enforcing the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which mandates that ISPs filter unlawful information like drug sales.
Someone from their side expressed concern that the perpetrators of these wrongs weren’t being held accountable. Big Tech and the Biden administration need to be held accountable.
The Energy and Commerce Committee, now under Republican leadership, will look into allegations that tech giants suppressed or downplayed data showing the negative effects of their products on children and teenagers.
As McMorris Rodgers put it, “They have not been open about the impact their platforms have on our children” when testifying before the Energy and Commerce [Committee].
The delegate has called for increased openness to aid parents in securing a child-friendly online environment.
As McMorris Rodgers put it, “simply not a fair contest,” given the current condition of events. We need to provide parents with the means to keep tabs on their children’s social media activity, so they can set appropriate restrictions on their kids’ screen time and be alerted if their kids are engaging in potentially dangerous activities.
The work of the Energy and Commerce Committee is only one aspect of the Republican Party’s overall aim to push a program that incorporates parental empowerment now that they control the House. Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader of the California House of Representatives for the Republican Party, introduced the Parents Bill of Rights earlier this year.
McCarthy and his supporters claim that the Parents Bill of Rights would promote transparency in public schools by giving parents more say over how their tax money is spent on their children’s education.
McCarthy said that “parents should be empowered and shielded” in order to give them a say in their children’s education.