NPR

Targeting Online Privacy, Congress Sets A New Tone With Big Tech

In a rare area of bipartisan agreement, and after years of little regulation, lawmakers in both chambers say the tech industry needs to do more to protect its users' personal information.
After years of light regulation, the tech industry is coming under scrutiny from Congress and regulators due to a series of privacy breaches.

For years, the big tech companies have been given a pretty free rein by Capitol Hill to act as they chose. What congressional oversight of the industry there was largely focused on whether there was political bias on various platforms.

But in an abrupt reversal, this week Congress is holding oversight hearings, and lawmakers are proposing new regulations in a crack down on how big tech companies use and resell their customers' personal information.

The change is driven in part by the new Democratic

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