Welcome to the online version of From the policy deskevening bulletin that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill from the NBC News Politics team.
In today’s edition, Jason Abbruzzese, assistant managing editor for technology and science, explains that Tuesday’s House TikTok vote is part of a broader effort to crack down on social media companies after years of inaction. Plus, senior political analyst Chuck Todd takes a look at the GOP split in Ohio’s Senate race ahead of next week’s primary.
The TikTok bill could be just the beginning of the fight against social media
By Jason Abbruzzese
It’s not just TikTok.
yes, voting on Wednesday — and the vitriol surrounding it, surprisingly not toeing the party line — was mostly about TikTok. law approved by majority vote Unless China-based ByteDance misses it, it could ban the popular app.
But it’s also a move that adds to broader momentum around legislation aimed at cracking down on social media companies. Over the years, many politicians have talked tough and introduced the occasional bill targeting consumer tech giants. Tech companies like Facebook (now Meta) have organized campaigns that require regulation, even the kind they helped shape. Little has changed.
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That’s starting to change, and there are a lot of bills that aren’t clearly about TikTok. Most notably, Children’s Online Safety Act, also gained momentum on Capitol Hill, resulting in a similar confusion of traditional political coalitions. The bill would require social media companies to do more to make their platforms safe for young users around issues such as sexual exploitation and harassment.
At the state level, governments are dabbling with various legislative ideas, even going so far. Suggest bans on social media for children under 16.
That is, many obstacles remain for these bills. Getting it through both houses of Congress or state legislatures remains a major hurdle, not to mention the inevitable legal challenges that stand in the way of even successful legislation. Laws passed by the states of Texas and Florida were intended to place restrictions on how social media companies operate their platforms It was greeted with skepticism by Supreme Court judges suggested during the recent controversy that the laws could soon be repealed.
Even after gaining widespread support at home, the TikTok legislation now faces a challenge An uncertain future in the Senate, where members feel less urgent to act. Democrats will have to consider sending such a bill to President Joe Biden struggles with young voters his re-election campaign is increasingly well-documented. Biden has said he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.
But even the recent failure of the TikTok bill will add to a diverse and increasingly bipartisan movement at social media companies that once operated with few concerns about government interference.
The most important Senate race in the fight for the future of the GOP
Analysis by Chuck Todd
Even though Donald Trump won the GOP nomination for president decisively, in some quarters the fight is still on the ballot over where the party is headed — often breaking along similar lines to Trump’s primary one-on-one with Nikki. Haley.
Republican voters have said Trump’s side loud and clear in the presidential primaries, but some of the sub-battles in this fight between the two wings are closer contests. Ohio Senate Primary With Trump and his forces behind Bernie Moreno and the more Chamber of Commerce wing of the party behind a wealthy state senator, Matt Dolan, there may be zero basis for this discussion.
The divisions in this race are sharp, especially over issues like Ukraine and whether the government should be small or strong. In the last Ohio Senate primary, the old guard stayed out of the race, allowing Trump to pick his nominee, now the Senate. JD Vance.
This time, the old guard is rallying behind a non-Trump candidate, with Gov. Mike DeWine and former Sen. Rob Portman supporting Dolan. Dolan ran against Vance in 2022, but didn’t have that level of outside support.
For post-Trump Republicans hoping to rebuild and steer the party in a new direction, Dolan’s primary victory would be the start of a movement in that direction — should Trump lose the presidential race. But a Moreno victory would mean the Ohio GOP would likely be in Trump’s arms for the long haul, not just one or two election cycles.
Whatever the outcome of this Senate primary, it will be very important to the future of the GOP. And this is definitely the most consistent Republican race for me to watch this cycle because of all the subtext.
🗞️ The best stories of the day
- ⚖️ Trump’s Trials: The judge presiding over the Georgia election meddling case has dismissed some of the criminal charges against Trump, but has yet to rule on whether to disbar Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis. More →
- 👟 Veepstakes: Abortion has become a top concern for Trump as he considers several candidates to be his candidate. More →
- 👀 Progressive problems: Politico examines how some progressives are worried about Biden’s message on abortion and his decision to highlight certain stories about access to reproductive care that further stigmatize the procedure. More →
- 🍑 Georgia in my mind: Georgia Democrats admit they face an “uphill battle” to keep the state blue after Biden’s success in 2020. More →
- 🌳 Marijuana meeting: After Biden said marijuana reform would be a priority in his State of the Union address, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to hold a panel discussion with rapper Fat Joe on the issue. More →
- 🏈 A different kind of run for Rodgers? Robert F. Kennedy Jr announces his running mate two weeks later for an independent presidential bid. And his list of nominees includes New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura. More →
For now, that’s it from The Politics Desk. If you have feedback – like it or not – email us politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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