The writer is international policy director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center
Each day reveals new harms caused by technology companies to democracy and public values. Hate speech goes viral, advertising companies oversee and own massive information ecosystems, voters are manipulated, and private firms sell intrusion systems that have similar capacities to intelligence agencies.
These are only a few examples on the growing list of democratic harms. Yet lawmakers still turn predominantly to market mechanisms when they seek to bolster the democratic accountability of technology companies. Powerful tools such as antitrust regulation can serve as a model for their efforts. But it is time for democratic principles to be safeguarded more explicitly.