Public Knowledge Pushes for Digital Platform Regulator

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2025 – Public Knowledge released a report Monday renewing its call for the creation of a dedicated federal regulator to oversee digital platforms and emerging artificial intelligence technologies.

The report, Building the Digital Platform Commission, calls for the establishment of an independent regulatory body that would have “broad powers in regard to competition, consumer protection, and research” in areas such as online platforms and generative AI.

“Creating a new agency operating under a new statute – difficult as it is – is better than either trying to extend an existing statute to cover the current gaps in the law or expanding the authority of an existing agency,” the report, authored by Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld and Policy Director Lisa Macpherson stated.

The report builds on a policy conclave convened by Public Knowledge in July 2024. Participants in the conclave debated whether a commission-style model, like the Federal Communications Commission, or an executive branch agency would be more viable and operationally effective.

Participants in the July 2024 conclave included Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the FCC; Emma Llansó, acting deputy associate administrator at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; and Julie Cohen, professor of law and technology at Georgetown Law Center, among nearly twenty other legal scholars, technologists, and civil society experts who contributed to the discussion.

While the report strongly endorses the creation of a new independent commission, it also reflects uncertainty over how such a body would be structured and whether it would be politically feasible.

It acknowledged that recent Supreme Court rulings such as Loper Bright have made it harder for Congress to delegate regulatory authority. Recent actions at the Federal Trade Commission — including the firing of two sitting commissioners — has further cast doubt on the stability and independence of commission-style regulatory bodies.

While the participants noted that independent agencies generally adhere strongly to processes and procedures, especially when minority members are present, executive agencies might be more agile in policy implementation but could face challenges in balancing authority with other agencies.

Some floated a third option: a research-oriented agency modeled on the National Institute of Standards and Technology or the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Such a body would focus on standard-setting and transparency without formal enforcement powers.

Still, there was broad consensus that any new regulator must be granted rulemaking, enforcement, and research authority — potentially modeled on the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority. Participants also debated whether privacy should fall under the new agency’s jurisdiction or remain with the Federal Trade Commission.

The report highlighted recent congressional proposals to establish such a digital regulator. 

In 2022, Senators Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., introduced the Digital Platform Commission Act, marking the first legislative attempt to create a federal agency focused on platform competition and consumer protection. 

A year later, Senators Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introduced the Digital Consumer Protection Commission Act, which would establish a new commission to regulate online platforms, promote competition, protect privacy, protect consumers, and strengthen national security.

While neither bill advanced, Public Knowledge argued that growing legal uncertainty, rapid AI development, and continued platform consolidation make the case for a new agency more urgent than ever.