By Michaela Fuller

 

To say that big tech, the collection of major American technology companies, plays a critical role in today’s society[1] is almost an understatement. Companies like the “big five,” i.e., Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, dominate both the marketplace and social lives of most of the world, yet the mega industry has developed free from significant federal regulation.[2] Instead, the industry functions on a system of self-governance—a system that is often heavily criticized for reasons such as corporate accountability and overall societal safety and wellbeing.[3]

The call for Congressional regulation over tech giants and their products is not a novel one, yet many hurdles stand in the way of reaching meaningful results. One such hurdle was brought to light again recently when Senator Richard Blumenthal showed his misunderstanding of social media colloquialisms during a Senate subcommittee hearing on protecting children on the internet.

In an attempt to press Facebook’s global head of security, Antigone Davis, on how the tech giant is aiming to address child exploitation and mental health on its apps (including Instagram), Sen. Blumenthal asked her, “Will you commit to ending finsta?”[4]

Although asked in earnest, what Sen. Blumenthal seemed unable to grasp during the interaction was what the term “finsta” actually means. Finsta is a slang word for a secret, alternative Instagram account many social media users create under a fake name, often solely for use amongst their closest circle of friends.[5] The term combines the word “fake” with the shorthand name for Instagram, “Insta.”[6]

“Finsta is one of your products or services,” the senator continued.[7] “We’re not talking about Google, or Apple – it’s Facebook, correct?”[8] Davis responded explaining that a finsta is a type of social media account, not a product.[9] Blumenthal pushed, “OK, will you end that type of account?”[10] Davis then replied, “I’m not sure I understand exactly what you’re asking.”[11]

Some of those who understand the term have opined the exchange between the 75-year-old Congressman and the tech giant’s representative as bizarre, cringeworthy, and “comedic farce.”[12] However, to some, it exemplifies a much larger problem of how out of touch much of Congress may actually be to the technology it is tasked with regulating.[13]

Critics have claimed the finsta disconnect symbolizes the schism between everyday social media users and their elected representatives.[14] As technology giants like Facebook continue to amass in societal dependency, we depend more and more on Congress to regulate the industry in a meaningful way. Though suggestions for a wide variety of social media and other tech regulations are oft proposed from politicians to scholars to the tech giants themselves, all these policy pitches are faced with various legal issues including First Amendment, data privacy and protection, and antitrust challenges.[15] These issues must be evaluated on a Congressional level,[16] so critics are asking: how can Congress regulate an industry it does not understand?

It is, of course, fair to question if Sen. Blumenthal’s finsta flub is representative of such a grand lack of Congressional understanding. After all, the confused interaction “was just one moment in a relatively productive hearing focused on the mental health effects Instagram has on its young users,”[17] demonstrating that an older Congress does not categorically prevent meaningful tech policy changes.

However, as noted by one critique of the exchange, the argument is not one to say that older people like Sen. Blumenthal should not hold governmental seats, but one that pushes for a standard that “they shouldn’t be the only ones in the room.”[18] Meaningful regulation depends on informed, involved regulators. Thus, meaningful regulation on social media and tech giants must depend on regulators who know the ins and outs of the platforms they are regulating. Is our current Congress representative of this mission? Is it willing or able to understand the importance of the argument?

 

[1] Valerie C. Brannon, Regulating Big Tech: Legal Implications, Congressional Research Service (Sept. 11, 2019), https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/LSB10309.pdf.

[2] Id.

[3] See, e.g., Arisha Hatch, Big Tech Companies Cannot be Trusted to Self-Regulate: We Need Congress to Act, Tech Crunch (Mar. 12, 2021, 9:26 AM), https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/12/big-tech-companies-cannot-be-trusted-to-self-regulate-we-need-congress-to-act/.

[4] Eric Morrow (@morroweric), Twitter (Sept. 30, 2021, 1:27 PM), https://twitter.com/morroweric/status/1443628623576109065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1443628623576109065%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2021%2F10%2F04%2F1043150167%2Fsen-blumenthals-finsta-flub-renews-questions-about-congress-grasp-of-big-tech.

[5] Alana Wise, What Sen. Blumenthal’s ‘Finsta’ Flub Says About Congress’ Grasp of Big Tech, NPR (Oct. 4, 2021, 5:52 PM), https://www.npr.org/2021/10/04/1043150167/sen-blumenthals-finsta-flub-renews-questions-about-congress-grasp-of-big-tech.

[6] Id.

[7] Morrow, supra note 4.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Id.

[11] Id.

[12] Brandon Choe, ‘Last Week Tonight’: John Oliver Drags Senator Richard Blumenthal Over “Finsta” Flub, Deadline (Oct. 3, 2021, 9:48 PM), https://deadline.com/2021/10/john-oliver-finsta-blumenthal-1234848955/.

[13] Wise, supra note 5.

[14] Id.

[15] Brannon, supra note 1.

[16] Hatch, supra note 3.

[17] Makena Kelly, Sen. Blumenthal’s ‘Finsta’ Quote Wasn’t That Bad, The Verge (Oct. 1, 2021, 11:51 AM), https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/1/22704308/finsta-instagram-facebook-privacy-kids-safety-richard-blumenthal-blackburn.

[18] Wise, supra note 5.

Image Source: https://washingtonnewsday.com/us-politics/richard-blumenthals-finsta-remarks-have-been-seen-over-6-million-times-on-youtube/#prettyPhoto/0/