In his inauguration speech at the start of this year, Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a promise to govern New York City “expansively and audaciously.” He brings a high-profile team to lead this charge in a City Hall that he says will not hesitate to use its power to improve the lives of New Yorkers. With notable appointments such as Lina Khan, who challenged dominant technology firms as chair of the Federal Trade Commission, the Mamdani transition team has the expertise to expand the mayor’s technology governance agenda. Regulating technology platforms can be complex at any level of government. While public support for Big Tech regulation has grown as concerns like social media addiction and AI-related risks have come to light, US federal and state policymakers often fail to align on governance approaches (take AI regulation or platform transparency for instance). Local governments, as the closest form of democratic representation for many Americans, are sometimes better positioned to achieve ambitious technology governance goals, especially when the technology in question creates distinctly local impacts. Some, like New York City, have pioneered local laws in algorithmic governance, but they will need a better framework when using a more controversial lever: targeted interventions in online content moderation.
New York Could Show Cities a Better Way to Work With Big Tech on Safety | TechPolicy.Press
