Sen Curtis Calls for Lowering Political Temperture, Reforming Social Media Algorithms

At a CNN townhall at Utah Valley University, US Senators John Curtis (R-UT) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) urged Americans to lower political tensions and introduced critical social media reforms. Reflecting on the recent shooting of Charlie Kirk and other high-profile attacks, Senator Curtis warned, “If it can happen here in Utah, it can happen anywhere,” calling for the tempering of political tensions from both sides of the aisle. Senator Curtis focused heavily on the role of social media in driving division and harm, describing how platforms have shifted from connecting friends to weaponizing algorithms for profit. He outlined bipartisan legislation he is working on with Senator Kelly to hold companies liable when their algorithms cause harm, while preserving free speech: “Anybody can still post what they want—but when a company chooses to amplify or suppress content, they should own the consequences.”