This tech summit is focusing on an important topic: improving the lives of Mississippians through communications technologies. Already today, you’ve heard discussions about the next generation of wireless connectivity and the new applications and services that they’ll enable. I see in the program that I am officially the “Guest Government Speaker.” So my job is to talk about what the federal government can do not only to encourage innovation and infrastructure deployment, but also to make sure that these new technologies will be accessible to all Americans, especially those in rural communities. 

Digital platforms, be they search engines like Google or marketplaces like Amazon and the Apple app store, rely on similar algorithms, which have since conditioned us to trust the top search results by virtue of the Wisdom of Crowds. But this logic assumes that the algorithms doing traffic control only discriminate based on the user’s preferences. And in recent years, reports have emerged that some of the large platforms may nudge their algorithms to favor their own results over competitors.

With or without structural separation, we could protect competition and build trust right away with the creation of vertical nondiscrimination rules -- policies designed to ensure a fair and competitive economic playing field. In the past, when an important economic sector demanded complex policy solutions, a new agency like the Federal Communications Commission or the Federal Aviation Administration was formed to protect the public interest. A digital regulator staffed by lawyers, computer scientists, economists, and other experts would be well-suited to analyzing the sector and making rules to stop any anticompetitive commercial discrimination. It could run the black-box testing system Harold Feld prescribes, and ensure timely, transparent, and effective responses to complaints. Without expert regulators keeping an eye on the digital economy, questions about the neutrality of algorithmic arbiters may continue to swirl.