Social Media, AI & Tech

Our government has a role to play in ensuring technology makes our lives easier, safer, and more productive. America should be the world’s innovation leader — but it shouldn’t come at the cost of our children’s safety, our workers’ livelihoods, or the reliability of the news we consume. 

Social media was created to bring us together and keep us informed, but it has evolved into something else. Predatory algorithms elevate the most extreme voices on all sides to provoke our outrage, get more clicks, and make more money. It’s the rage economy. The billionaires who own these platforms are engineering our emotions so they can profit off our pain. We have to do something about it.

And while we want to protect America’s leadership in artificial intelligence, we are still grappling with how it will affect everything from how we work to how our children learn. We must protect Americans and establish clear, consistent laws for businesses.

We too often think about politics as binary choices. When it comes to regulating the tech sector, some say we must choose between innovation and stagnation or free speech and censorship. I reject that false choice.

We can defend free speech while holding powerful corporations accountable. We can encourage innovation while setting clear guidelines that protect Americans from harm. We can and must do both.

This is not a comprehensive list! If you have policy ideas you want to see from your next U.S. Senator, please reach out HERE. We want to hear from you!

• Regulate social media companies without infringing on free speech: Pass commonsense safeguards to keep kids safe online — like giving parents more control over their children’s social media use and prohibiting platforms from using algorithms to send targeted content to minors; require social media companies to conduct regular impact assessments to check algorithms for bias, fairness, privacy, and security; and rein in broad immunity protections for companies.
• Ensure America continues to lead the world in the quality of its tech workforce: Invest in STEM education to foster the next generation of responsible tech leaders, as well as programs like Registered Apprenticeships aimed at re-training workers displaced or at risk of being displaced by AI so they can excel in industry-leading technology jobs. 
• Ensure AI works for working people: Protect workers from invasive AI surveillance in the workplace; use AI to make jobs safer and less repetitive; create pathways for workers to move into higher-skilled, better-paying roles as the economy evolves; ensure AI companies follow the same copyright laws as everyone else; include worker voices in government-funded AI research and development; and defend the right to transparency and human review for automated decisionmaking around promotions, discipline, and terminations.
• Ensure AI data centers do not disrupt communities or raise energy costs for Americans: Guarantee large energy users like data centers fund the infrastructure improvements they need rather than passing those costs on to consumers, and support legislation to study the best ways for America to take advantage of the benefits of AI without disrupting communities.
• Protect national security amid innovation: Pass legislation to enforce and strengthen export controls to keep advanced AI chips out of the hands of adversaries who would use them against us.
• Invest in digital literacy programs: Create federal grant programs for schools, libraries, and community partners to teach critical skills for identifying misinformation, using digital media responsibly, and helping parents protect their children online.
• Expand access to high-speed internet: Increase funding dedicated to expanding high-speed internet access across Texas to meet the federal government’s original $3.3 billion commitment to our state. 
• Support clear, fair rules for cryptocurrency: Bring digital assets within a clear regulatory structure so crypto companies play by the same rules as everyone else — protecting consumers from fraud while letting legitimate innovation thrive.

• Protected victims in cases involving explicit deepfake material by requiring social media platforms to create effective reporting and investigation processes.  
• Authored legislation to ban algorithmic price fixing by stopping corporate landlords from using anti-competitive algorithms to artificially jack up rent prices. 
• Authored legislation to rein in AI-generated political advertisements by regulating deceptive materials meant to influence an election.
• Expanded rural broadband access by establishing the Texas Broadband Infrastructure Fund.
• Grew our technology workforce by approving the creation of an Information Technology credential and apprenticeship program.
• Improved our cybersecurity by supporting the establishment of the Texas Cyber Command tasked with protecting critical infrastructure systems.
• Prepared for the future of technology by approving the establishment of an Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council to create guidelines for its responsible use in state agencies, a Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium to ensure Texas is a leader in technology and national defense, and a state working group on how to manage the expansion of the blockchain industry in Texas.