Marwick's six-part tech agenda for Democrats after 2026 sweep

Alice Marwick, writing in Tech Policy Press, argues that the Democrats' sweep of congressional and state races in 2026 is a mandate to legislate well beyond AI. Her six-part agenda covers affordability, privacy, advertising transparency, scams, researcher data access, and regulatory capacity. Three tech policy researchers on our radar shared it on its day of publication.

The concrete asks are specific. On affordability, "Click to Cancel" rules against the subscription traps Duke's Robyn Caplan calls "terrible for consumers." On privacy, a revision of the 1974 Privacy Act to curb federal agency data-sharing, and a federal privacy law to replace a patchwork now spanning 24 states. On platforms, the FTC should force large social media companies to disclose how much of their activity is bots and AI agents: "we should at least know how much of the internet is dead," Caplan says. On scams, two targets: a ban on crypto ATMs, which Marwick ties to more than $300 million in 2025 losses, and liability for Meta over scam advertising.

For researchers, Northeastern's Rebekah Tromble calls for "access to company data that allows independent, public-interest researchers to understand the impacts these technologies have," along the lines of Europe's Digital Services Act. Fordham's Olivier Sylvain wants Democrats to "insist on filling vacant positions at administrative agencies with competent subject-matter specialists," and Marwick estimates restoring the Office of Technology Assessment would cost about $30 million.

The money argument comes from Cornell's danah boyd, who says "More than anything it's about tax law not product. Direct financial implications will prompt more changes." Penn's Sarah Jackson is blunter: "I just want tech bros to pay their fair share of taxes." Marwick concedes the agenda is not flashy but argues it would have "real-world implications for technology companies and, potentially, enormous benefits for the average American."