As reports reveal that Wisconsinites lose an estimated $1.2 billion each year to online scams, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who won the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor, says it’s time state lawmakers pass legislation that holds Big Tech companies accountable when they fail to keep their users safe online.
“We have to have some teeth. We always talk about accountability and holding folks accountable, yet we have not passed any legislation, to my knowledge, to make sure that we can hold companies like X or Meta accountable for what they’re actually posting or allowing people to post on their platforms,” Crowley said during an interview with the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans.
Earlier this year, Gov. Tony Evers signed several bills into law that aimed at protecting children online, including legislation that allows online sextortion victims to sue their perpetrators for monetary damages. However, as more reports reveal that Big Tech companies like Meta benefit from users being scammed through fake ads and when their digital safety tools fail to keep users safe on their platforms—even when that harm has deadly consequences—there aren’t currently any laws in Wisconsin that hold the companies themselves accountable.
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If elected governor on Nov. 3, Crowley said it would be his duty to work with the Wisconsin legislature to ensure that these companies, many of which align with the Trump administration, are held accountable.
“We need legislation. At the end of the day, this is about accountability. When you think about these tech companies who are making [money] hand over fist, they can’t continue to put our most vulnerable populations in this type of predicament,” Crowley said, adding that while young people are often the focus of social media legislation, older Wisconsinites also need to be part of the conversation.
As Milwaukee County Executive, Crowley has seen the impact of online scams firsthand through his work with the county’s Commission on Aging and worries that, without proper guardrails, these increasingly sophisticated scams could jeopardize the livelihoods of the 190,000 older adults living in Milwaukee County.
Watch: Crowley points to experience in Madison and Milwaukee in race for governor
“We need legislation, but we have to make sure that we’re partnering and working directly with the Attorney General’s office when it comes down to it to make sure that there are no unintended consequences, and that we actually have legislation to make sure that we are preventing any level of fraud scams moving forward,” Crowley said.
In the meantime, Crowley encourages Wisconsinites to keep writing and calling their elected officials to urge them to take action.
“We have to take this seriously. As long as we’re reacting, we’re not protecting the public,” Crowley said.
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