U-S Senator: Social Media Needs 'Guardrails'

U-S Senator Mark Warner

Senator Mark Warner believes that it's time for government to end its hand-off approach to social media and put some regulations in place, with the Virginia Democrat saying Friday, "You have to put up some guardrails."

Speaking at a Virginia community college before a small group that included many local officials, Warner said that social media companies like Facebook and Twitter had for years strongly urged the federal government to stay away from regulating them because they were afraid Washington would, quote, "screw it up."

A lot of that thinking changed, however, in the wake of Russia's weaponizing of social media as part of its interference in the 2016 election.

Warner said that federal lawmakers can no longer allow social media to act without any constraints, saying, "You have to put up some guardrails."

The senator said regulation is particularly needed because about half of Americans now get their news from social media, but many don't know where that news is coming from. He said, "People have the right to know whether they are talking to a robot or a machine."

He also stated that social medial companies have a, quote, "moral and legal obligation" to take down sites that advocate hate and killing.