Sen. Mark WarnerMark Robert WarnerHillicon Valley: Trump unveils initiatives to boost 5G | What to know about the Assange case | Pelosi warns tech of ‘new era’ in regulation | Dem eyes online hate speech bill Warner looking at bills to limit hate speech, have more data portability on social media Julian Assange: Five things to know about the legal case against him MORE (D-Va.) is looking to create legislation to restrict hate speech and increase users’ ability to move their data between social media platforms, Reuters reported Thursday.
Warner told the wire service that he was looking to propose bills in the next month or two and hoping to gain a Republican co-sponsor.
He added that online hate speech has real consequences, particularly referencing recent mass shootings at a Pittsburgh synagogue and New Zealand mosques in which the alleged killers also posted hateful content online.
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“I want technology to stay. I want the social media platforms to stay,” he said. “But I do think the days of the wild, Wild West where anything goes, people just aren’t going to allow it.”
Warner also said he wanted to increase transparency about who social media users are communicating with online.
“Shouldn’t we have the right to know whether we’re being contacted by a human being versus a bot when you’re on social media?” he said.
On Tuesday Warner also introduced a bill to prohibit organizations like Facebook and Alphabet, which owns Google, from misleading users into giving personal information to companies.