Set the Rules for Big Tech
Big Tech (Meta, X, Tik Tok and AI companies) have a lot of power over your data, your feed, and your headspace and right now the loudest voices in the room are lobbyists’, not yours. That's exactly why your voice matters: a few small, real actions (below) can help create change. Let’s take back our digital turf.
Why does it matter?
Your phone is probably sitting right next to you. It gives you free maps when you're lost, connects you with old friends, and answers pretty much any late-night thought you type into a search bar. That convenience is real, and honestly, pretty great. But with that convenience comes many negative trade-offs.
Your personal data is the product. And the business model runs on knowing, and selling, as much about you as possible.
A few companies, a lot of power. When a handful of platforms control the field, there's less competition, less pressure to treat you well, and less accountability when something goes wrong.
The algorithm doesn't care if you're okay. Algorithms prioritize engagement, not your wellbeing, leading to the rapid spread of misinformation and harmful content that affects mental health.
Concerns about national security are raised, particularly regarding foreign-owned apps that may give access to sensitive US data and private companies controlling communication and surveillance infrastructure.
And last but not least, AI is moving faster than the rules. AI doom warnings are growing louder. The rise of unregulated AI systems poses risks to humanity.
Resources:
How Websites and Apps Collect and Use your Information -FTC
How Americans View Data Privacy - Pew Research Center
Big Tech Monopolies -American Economic Liberties Project
AI is too big to slow in a geopolitical race - Commentary - Reuters
Social Media and Youth Mental Health the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory - National Library of Medicine (Government Agency)
Minds in Crisis -Journal of Mental Health and Clinical Psychology
Check Your Phone Now: These 10 Data-Hungry Apps are Secretly Tracking You - PC Mag
What Happens When Tech Bros Run National Security - Commentary - Time
Why are there concerns AI could threaten humanity, and how real are they? -BBC
Statement on AI Extinction Risk - Center for AI Safety
Is there support for regulation of Big Tech?
Yes, there is bipartisan support to regulate technology firms, however, turning these concerns into law has been a challenge. Current proposals to regulate Big Tech fall into three main areas: competition, data privacy, and national security.
To increase competition, Congress is debating bills like the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA), which would prevent dominant platforms from favoring their own products over rivals. It's been reintroduced in the Senate, but hasn't gotten a floor vote.
Data privacy is honestly a mess: a major push was underway for the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA), aiming to create a single federal standard that limits data collection and grants consumers more control over their personal information. However, it died in committee and hasn’t been revived. That means the U.S. is currently the only G20 country without one comprehensive federal privacy law. Individual states have stepped in — twenty now have their own privacy laws — but there's still no baseline that protects everyone, no matter where you live.
Kids' online safety — now part of a bigger bill: The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) didn't pass on its own. It got folded into a larger package, the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act. The House passed its version in June 2026 — but it stripped out the "duty of care" rule, widely seen as KOSA's strongest protection. The Senate is working from a tougher version. The two haven't been reconciled, so nothing is law yet.
Resources:
How can you take action in Ohio?
Small, specific actions add up. Many organizations are rallying together to voice concern about Big Tech.
Follow, join and donate here:
Young People's Alliance — youth-led advocacy pushing bipartisan digital-safety and algorithm-transparency policy.
Design It For Us — a youth coalition running direct campaigns aimed at Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and AI companies, including current pushes on AI safety regulation.
ParentsSOS — (Parents for Safe Online Spaces) parents whose families were affected by online platforms, organizing to get child-safety bills across the finish line.
Fairplay — decades of work on safer tech design for kids, and the group behind several major coalition campaigns.
Make your voice count in D.C.:
Call (not just email) your U.S. Representative and Senators. A 60-second script works: "I'm a constituent and I want you to support [AICOA / the KIDS Act], because [reason it matters to you]."
If you're not sure who represents you, look it up at congress.gov.
Do one small privacy audit this week:
Check the app permissions on your phone — location, contacts, microphone — and turn off anything that isn't necessary.
If your state has a privacy law, look up how to submit a data-deletion or opt-out request to data brokers.
Stay in the loop:
Sign up for legislative alerts through one of the orgs above so you know exactly when the KIDS Act reconciliation vote or a new privacy bill actually happens.
Multiply it:
Tell one friend what you just learned. Post a screenshot of the part that surprised you. Tag someone who complains about their algorithm but has never called a rep. That's how "doing" becomes normal.
Resources:
Winning the Race -Whitehouse.gov
Big Tech is spending $226,000 a day on lobbying Congress, advocacy group finds - Fortune
How Does Big Tech Fight Against These Policies?
Unsurprisingly, the industry is pushing back hard. And to be fair (we're Doers, not haters), some of it isn't just self-interest. A key lobbying tactic is arguing that stringent rules will stifle American innovation and cause the U.S. to lose its technological advantage, especially in AI development. When laws are passed, industry-funded groups frequently launch strategic litigation, often claiming that content moderation or age-verification rules violate the First Amendment. Right now, the loudest voices shaping big tech are lobbyists — not you.