Crowley Calls for AI, Social Media Regulation

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley speaks after becoming the Democratic nominee for governor. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley wants the state of Wisconsin to take action and legislate guardrails on the use and application of artificial intelligence (AI) and harmful features of social media platforms.

Crowley announced an 11-point plan at a campaign event in Milwaukee at the Centers for Independence, 2020 W. Wells St., to regulate the practices of social media companies and their increasing use of AI across their platforms.

The plan offers ideas for addressing fraud, the use of AI chatbots, addictive social media design, digital exploitation of children and surveillance techniques used in digital advertising. The proposal outlines a plan for Wisconsin to address some of these issues in the absence of comprehensive legislation at the federal level.

“Washington D.C. has not stepped up,” Crowley said. “But I want to be very clear. We also need Washington to be a willing partner. We have to make sure that we hold these billionaire tech companies accountable in making sure our families are safe and secure whenever they’re on social media or utilizing the internet.”

Ross Winklbauer Sr., president of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, backed Crowley’s tech regulation platform. His organization has heard from seniors how new technology, including AI, is making online scams more sophisticated.

“This isn’t the pickpocket on the street that we all remember. These are malicious actors on the internet utilizing AI to trick older people into thinking they’re talking to a loved one,” Winklebauer said. 

Danielle Scampini Linn, a member of the progressive organization Motherhood for Good, also spoke in support of Crowley’s plan. Social media and artificial intelligence are rapidly changing and posing new challenges for parents, she said.

“For too long, politicians have failed to protect our kids online,” she said. “Technology and AI can be tools, but if we don’t teach our kids how to use them correctly and safely, we’re setting them up to fail.”

Crowley framed his policy proposals as a way to place the burden of making social media and AI safer on the tech companies, not on users. Asked how he would enforce his tech regulation plan, Crowley said, “We pass the law … At the end of the day, they need to be responding to us. We have to make sure that we are protecting our communities as state and local elected officials.”

On AI, Crowley is proposing age requirements and new disclosures for AI chatbots. His proposal would ban addictive design features like infinite scroll and autoplay video. He wants families to have greater power to sue social media companies and to ban surveillance advertising that grabs a user’s personal data. He is also calling for greater penalties for AI-generated child sexual exploitation and sextortion, and funding for state initiatives to address fraud perpetrated online and using AI tools.

In a statement, Crowley’s opponent Tiffany said he would support “common-sense guardrails that protect children and seniors, safeguard personal privacy, and prevent sensitive data from falling into the hands of foreign adversaries, including Communist China … age-verification requirements for app providers, strengthen parental-consent protections, and give parents greater control over their children’s online activity.”