Technology

Technology policy covers a rapidly expanding range of issues: the regulation of artificial intelligence, broadband access and the digital divide, antitrust enforcement against large technology platforms, cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure, and the governance of social media content. Congress has struggled to keep pace with the speed of technological change — many lawmakers lack deep technical literacy, and well-resourced tech lobbyists heavily influence the debate. The U.S. passed the landmark CHIPS and Science Act in 2022 to reinvigorate domestic semiconductor manufacturing, responding to supply chain vulnerabilities revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic and growing competition from China. The European Union has moved further and faster on tech regulation: the Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act, and AI Act create comprehensive rules that American lawmakers are watching closely. Social media platforms face pressure from both left and right — liberals concerned about hate speech and disinformation, conservatives concerned about content moderation bias. AI is transforming every sector of the economy faster than any previous technology, raising urgent questions about job displacement, national security, and algorithmic bias that Congress is only beginning to address through legislation.