OUR DATA, OURSELVES

Access to online services is as fundamental to modern life as electricity or water. And just as we expect our electricity to be reliable and our water to be clean, we should have high expectations for the internet. Our data represents our personhood; it encompasses our relationships, our thoughts, our interests, our created memories. That information should be controlled by us—not by Big Tech.

- BY SPENCER COX AND FRANK H. MCCOURT JR.

Utah’s groundbreaking new Digital Choice Act will help make that goal possible by finally giving people agency over their data on social media. When the law takes effect on July 1, 2026, it will mark a bold step toward giving people—not platforms—control of their personal information.

Under the act, individuals will be able to use open-source protocols to seamlessly move their content and relationships to new apps if they are unhappy with the experience on a social media site. This portability and interoperability will give people the freedom to manage their digital lives without losing years of personal history. The law also gives people the power to delete all of their data when they decide to leave a platform.

For years, it has been common wisdom that social media is not the product—we are. Users do not pay for access to social media platforms because social media platforms profit by selling our attention to advertisers. The Digital Choice Act flips that relationship to put users in control.