In each edition of web_crawlr we have exclusive original content every day. On Tuesdays our Senior Reporter Tricia Crimmins explains the legislation that is captivating the internet in her “Digital Democracy” column. If you want to read columns like this before everyone else, subscribe to web_crawlr to get your daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.
More than 13,000 bills entered Congress since the start of the 118th Congress on January 8. And then, of course, there are 50 state legislatures that also introduce, vote on, pass, and enact legislation.
But out of the tens of thousands of bills, initiatives, and policy proposals that pass through the halls of Congress and legislatures across the country, only a few generate large responses online.
(Because some bills just aren’t that controversial, like S3577, or “A bill to designate the Federal building located at 300 E. 3rd Street in North Platte, Nebraska, as the “Virginia Smith Federal Building.” Who can argue with that?)
But others, like the Alabama legislature’s response to the state’s Supreme Court February ruling that decided IVF embryos should be considered children, not only become national talking points—they startle the internet to the core, prompting outcry, activism, organizing, and more. With “Digital Democracy,” we will discuss the legislation that is captivating the internet.
Or legislation that isn’t even passed as law, but signals shifting allegiances or policy trends within state Houses and Senates, like a now dead Wyoming Senate bill that would allow employers to misgender their employees, or a Georgia House bill that would make election interference using deepfakes a felony.
And some viral votes are outside of legislative bodies all together, like the ceasefire protest votes in multiple Democratic primaries over the last two months.
Each week, in “Digital Democracy” I’ll be explaining the bills, the backlash, and the context you need to know to understand the votes everyone is talking about online—and how they might affect you.
We’ll start with our first bill next week, but if you know of any bill that is generating buzz online, send me an email here.
