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Washington, DC -- Today, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) announced that the Congressional Task Force on Digital Citizenship will officially relaunch for the 117th Congress to continue and expand on its successful work since its founding in April 2020. Wexton is a founding Member of the Task Force, which includes nine other Members of Congress.

Members of the Task Force on Digital Citizenship for the 117th Congress include: Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), Don Beyer (D-VA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Bill Foster (D-IL), Bill Keating (D-MA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Lori Trahan (D-MA).

"The Congressional Task Force on Digital Citizenship was founded to help Americans engage in safe and healthy ways in an increasingly digital world -- and the world has never been more digital than during this past year," said Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton. "I'm proud of our Task Force's work to provide resources and tips to those spending more time online during the COVID pandemic, and I look forward to building on the work of our first year through new forums, partnerships, and legislative efforts. Whether it's managing our young kids' screen time and safety, teaching digital footprint awareness to teens, helping people spot misinformation online and on social media, or protecting seniors from scams, the Task Force is committed to helping all Americans become better digital citizens."

The Task Force on Digital Citizenship was established to help better equip Americans, from toddlers to seniors, with the tools and resources they need to use technology and engage online responsibly in an increasingly digital world. 

The Task Force has tackled topics such as screen time for young Americans, the dangers of disinformation and misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and safeguarding our democracy from digital attacks and false information campaigns. Members fought for key legislative priorities in the 116th Congress, including successfully passing into law a measure to review and report on foreign disinformation campaigns on social media seeking to undermine federal elections. The Task Force also laid out a proposed roadmap for President Biden before his inauguration on ways his administration can confront misinformation and disinformation and the dangers they pose to democracy.

In the 117th Congress, the Task Force will continue to bring together policymakers and stakeholders to share resources with the public and craft legislative solutions on the issues of practicing healthy online behaviors, being conscious of your digital footprint, understanding digital scams and threats, combatting false information and extremism, safeguarding privacy and security, and more.

In particular, the Task Force will mark the relaunch with the reintroduction this week of Wexton’s legislation to study the influence of misinformation and disinformation on the public’s response to COVID. False information about the virus, public health guidance, and the vaccines has been rampant. Vaccine disinformation remains prolific online and on social media, despite platforms’ efforts to limit its spread, and experts fear it will continue to be a barrier to stopping the spread of COVID and moving past this crisis.

You can learn more about the Task Force on Digital Citizenship here.

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