WILMINGTON, Del. – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) was named chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law. The subcommittee has jurisdiction over legal issues pertaining to technology and social media platforms, as well as other legal issues relating to Americans’ privacy and emerging technologies. 

“I am honored to serve as the next chair of the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, which was created to address cutting-edge legal issues posed by modern technology that affect the lives of countless Americans. I am deeply grateful to Chairman Durbin for this opportunity, and I look forward to working with Senator Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) as ranking member,” Senator Coons said.

“This is a critical moment for the United States to lead not only the development of technologies of the future, but the legal frameworks that will guide their use. We have much work to do to protect Americans’ privacy online, combat misinformation, and ensure the free flow of information, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on these important priorities.” 

Sen. Coons previously served as ranking member of the subcommittee from 2018-2019. He has also served as an active member of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Tech Taskforce. During the previous Congress, he introduced the Algorithmic Fairness Act, a bill to enhance transparency in the use of algorithms by tech companies, and the Facial Recognition Warrant Technology Act, a bill he co-led with Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would require federal law enforcement officials to obtain a warrant before using facial recognition technology to engage in ongoing surveillance. He also led a letter with 14 of his colleagues to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the issues of hate speech, violence incitement, and anti-Muslim bias on the platform. 

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