Broadband Breakfast Announces Big Tech & Speech Summit on March 9

WASHINGTON, January 19, 2023 – Broadband Breakfast on Thursday announced its upcoming Big Tech & Speach Summit, at Clyde’s of Gallery Place in Washington. The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, 2023.

In a January 11 op-ed, President Joe Biden made the case that “The risks Big Tech poses for ordinary Americans are clear,” and alleged widespread harms including cyberstalking, child sexual exploitation, worsening mental health and “toxic online echo chambers.” The President presented a three-fold challenge to Big Tech on Section 230, privacy and competition.

Broadband Breakfast’s Big Tech & Speech Summit will tackle all three of these subjects. After an introductory Panel 1 on the big picture involving Big Tech, each of President Biden’s complaints will be duly considered.

Panel 1: The big picture for Big Tech

It’s safe to say that Big Tech is no longer Washington’s favored child. Silicon Valley and the Big Tech giants that it has spawned — including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Apple and others — are under a microscope as never before. What accounts for this shift? Has reverence for the mantra “move fast and break things” become revulsion at what Big Tech has done to our brains?

Panel 2: The fragility of Section 230

In his op-ed, the President said, “we need Big Tech companies to take responsibility for the content they spread and the algorithms they use.” Panel 2 will address content moderation, political polarization and Biden’s call to “fundamentally reform Section 230.”

Section 230 has been referred to as “the 26 words that created the internet.” The law allows online platforms to engage in content moderation without accepting liability for third-party content. With the Supreme Court digging deeply into the law, the internet’s foundation might be at risk. Plus, Congress is considering proposals to require greater transparency of platforms’ algorithms. Others want to force social networks to be hands-off. Still others want them to more actively police misinformation. Who will force changes upon Section 230 practices: The President, Congress, the High Court or the marketplace?

Panel 3: Regulating data privacy

The President said, “we need serious federal protections for Americans’ privacy. That means clear limits on how companies can collect, use and share highly personal data.” Panel 3 will address how best to regulate the collection of personal data and its use in targeted advertising.

Federal privacy legislation was introduced to bipartisan acclaim in 2022. But the bill died in Congress, leaving states to set their own digital privacy rules to govern digital privacy. The time children and adults spend online is heightening attention on potentially harmful effects of digital immersion. What kind of guardrails are states putting in place? How can Congress or federal regulators respond to rapidly-developing changes in the tech industry?

Panel 4: Innovation, competition and future tech

The President said, “when tech platforms get big enough, many find ways to promote their own products while excluding or disadvantaging competitors — or charge competitors a fortune to sell on their platform.” Is this correct? Panel 4 will address the realities — including what we know and what we don’t know — about innovation and competition.

For example, artificial intelligence has taken huge strides in the past few years. How will the power of AI be harnessed? Is government regulation needed? And what about the promised “metaverse:” A fad or a game changer? Some lawmakers, on both the right and the left, agree with the President that Big Tech stifles innovation. Who’s correct? And how will innovation and competition move forward in the future?