Editor’s Note: In an article under preparation( p 43; fn 126) the author quotes a statement made by the Council on Foreign Relations that the United States has relinquished its position as the world leader in the development of mechanisms to improve the administrative state. The aforementioned result occurred because OIRA is operating at a staff level of only 50% of the level it had at the time of its establishment nearly 40 years ago. That said OIRA should have its foot in the door with respect to the regulation or non-regulation of the social media. The absence of the US participation in this debate and the emergence of the UK subsequent to its discussions with US social media interests reinforces the position of the Council on Foreign Relations.
It is just a matter of time before there will be well delineated proposals to regulate the social media. A key player in this effort will be the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the White House Office of Management and Budget, frequently referred to as the “cockpit of the regulatory state.”
Please note that OIRA is armed with three important instruments to address the regulation of social media:
Paperwork Reduction Act which gives OIRA the authority to institute information collections from any federal agency.
Data [Information] Quality Act allows OIRA to opine on the accuracy or inaccuracy of any information disseminated by any Federal agency.
The Issuance of Executive Orders OIRA has jurisdiction over the review and interagency analysis of Executive Orders as well as the authority to review all significant regulations proposed by Executive Branch agencies.
OIRA should establish an interagency task force to explore regulatory principles that would govern the regulation of the social media, whether federal or self regulation, and would serve as the norm for judging options recommended by others much as it did with respect to the implementation of a regulatory budget.
References
Consult these links for the lineage of this important organization:
OIRA: Past, Present and Future
A Half Century of Centralized Regulatory Review
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