Members of the House Homeland Security Committee fielded recommendations on March 4 from witnesses on how to combat online radicalization – including one national security expert who said Congress should consider creating regulations of social media platforms.
Aaron Zelin, a senior research fellow for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, argued that Congress should take action to regulate social media platforms to prevent violent extremists from exploiting them.
He explained at a hearing of the committee’s Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee that having standard regulations in place would ensure consistency across platforms, so even if a social media provider’s leadership or policies change, the guidelines would remain in place to protect against misuse.
“Standard regulations ensure that all platforms in the U.S. follow the same procedures, preventing extremists and terrorists from taking advantage of these platforms,” Zelin said.
The issue of regulating social media has sparked ongoing debate, as governments and platforms try to find a balance between free speech and necessary oversight.
Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., pointed out that creating those kinds of regulations is not impossible, and referenced recent legislation which makes it illegal to post non-consensual intimate images online.
Zelin also raised concerns about the impact of workforce cuts during the Trump administration, particularly on efforts to track online recruitment and attack planning by adversaries. He warned that these cuts could harm future security efforts, increasing the risk of attacks both domestically and internationally.
“When more resources are focused on power competition and fewer on counterterrorism, further reductions could make it easier for adversaries to exploit vulnerabilities and attack the U.S.,” he said.
Since Trump’s second term began, the administration has made significant cuts to the Federal workforce, laying off or deferring at least 94,000 employees, or roughly 3.9 percent of the Federal civilian workforce. The administration thus far has been shielding national security agencies from those kinds of job cuts.
