A Pro-Expression and Innovation Agenda for the New Administration, Congress, and State Policymakers

The incoming Trump administration, the 119th Congress, and new policymakers in state legislatures face many issues they can and should tackle. Among the issues that have drawn policymakers’ attention is the rapid development of new technologies.

Technology has heralded many advancements in our society. From greater expression, knowledge, community, innovation, and business to higher standards of living, technology has been a powerful tool of progress.

Yet the change brought about by modern technologies has raised concerns, for instance, about artificial intelligence (AI), harmful online speech, and the censorship of protected speech. While legislators, executive officials, and the courts have considered and taken some action in this space, major policy questions and challenges remain about what—if anything—would help encourage innovation and provide needed certainty or protection without impacting other individual rights and values.

To address many of these pressing technology topics, several Cato scholars are contributing to a blog series that will provide an overview of the issues and recommendations for how policymakers can advance online expression and support continued innovation. More specifically, this series will discuss:

• Jawboning or government censorship via proxy;

• Government efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation;

• Responding to foreign governments attacking US companies and speech;

• Setting the right standards for antitrust;

• Supporting youth online and improving user safety;

• Powering AI innovation and supporting its beneficial deployment;

• Preventing and reversing FCC interference in telecom and media;

• Crypto, DeFi, and the tools of financial freedom; and,

• Getting the government out of DEI to expand expression.

Following the completion of the series, we will summarize the key takeaways and provide a link to each of the other blogs in the series. Altogether, these policies form a proactive policy agenda that will maintain the US’ place as a leader in the technology sector and a supporter of free expression, both domestically and globally.