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3d ago

Cox and Auchincloss Unite at Harvard to Push Oversight of Social Media and AI

At a Harvard forum, leaders from both parties pressed for tighter platform rules to curb youth harms, deepfakes, polarization.

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Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks while joined by Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., during an event titled “Political Polarization and the Path Forward,” held at The John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.

Overview

  • Speaking at the Harvard Kennedy School, Gov. Spencer Cox and Rep. Jake Auchincloss argued that social media and AI erode a shared reality and amplify extremism.
  • Auchincloss spotlighted his UnAnxious Generation package proposing taxes on platform ad revenue, stronger age verification to keep children under 13 off, and measures to discourage deepfakes, while urging liability for AI-generated fabrications.
  • Cox warned about the psychological toll of real-time violent content, citing the rapid online spread of video from the fatal shooting of activist Charlie Kirk in Utah.
  • Utah’s recent actions include a 2024 age-verification law, a 2025 ban on deceptive generative-AI content, and lawsuits against Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat alleging harms to children.
  • Both leaders called for rebuilding offline civic ties and for voters to reward substantive cross-party work over performative outrage.