Projected president-elect Joe Biden is unlikely to deviate too far from President Donald Trump’s tough stance on big tech, given the role that former chief of staff Bruce Reed is likely to play in the incoming administration, reports Reuters.
Reed had a leading hand in creating California’s online privacy law which came into force in January.
He had a key role in talks with the tech industry and legislators on behalf of backers of a ballot initiative that led to the 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act, which could be a possible model for a national privacy law, according to the outlet.
He has also condemned a controversial federal statute that protects internet companies from liability. The federal law, known as Section 230, effectively protects Google, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter from lawsuits for hosting or removing harmful or misleading content.
Both Republicans and Democrats have called for reforming or abolishing Section 230, which critics say has allowed abuse to flourish on social media.
In May, President Donald Trump was reportedly considering an executive order that would require the Federal Communications Commission to develop rules that could limit Section 230 protections, allowing users to file complaints of bias with the Federal Trade Commission.
As well as moves towards tougher privacy laws, a Biden administration is expected to pursue the antitrust lawsuit filed against Google in late October, says the New York Times.
It may also introduce more antitrust cases against Facebook and possibly Amazon and Apple, which the Trump administration has already been probing for more than a year, the outlet reports.
Reed, a veteran political operative, was chief of staff for Biden from 2011 to 2013 when Biden was US vice president.