Fri. Apr 19th, 2024

Republicans Talk About Taking On Big Tech, Biden’s Actually Doing It<!-- wp:html --><p>Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast</p> <p>In a <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/americans-are-dangerously-divided-and-not-just-over-trump">polarized</a> political environment, the cause of reining in <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/want-to-fix-big-tech-stop-ignoring-sex-workers">Big Tech</a> companies (Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook) is one supported across <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/break-up-the-big-tech-giants-the-people-want-it">party lines</a>.</p> <p>Earlier this month, President <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/joe-bidens-legal-strategy-is-smart-even-if-its-politically-clumsy">Joe Biden</a> wrote a rare op-ed in <em>The Wall Street Journal </em>urging <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/unite-against-big-tech-abuses-social-media-privacy-competition-antitrust-children-algorithm-11673439411">bipartisan cooperation</a> to hold Big Tech accountable. More than an aspirational plea for bipartisan unity, the article is also a direct challenge to Republican leadership to “put-up-or-shut-up” on <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/10/23548683/kevin-mccarthy-big-tech-jim-jordan-antitrust-censorship-section-230">taking Big Tech to task</a>.</p> <p>While Republicans feign outrage about the tech giants on the campaign trail, the likes of House Speaker <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/19/kevin-mccarthy-tech-silicon-valley-527292">Kevin McCarthy</a> and Rep. <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3663528-republicans-squabble-over-bills-targeting-tech-giants-ahead-of-house-vote/">Jim Jordan</a> continue to drag their heels on meaningful antitrust reform. Though public discourse around Big Tech often centers on the issues of misinformation or alleged “<a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/big-tech-braces-for-republican-investigations-over-censorship">censorship</a>”, holding the tech giants (among the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/29/technology/big-tech-profits.html">largest</a> and widest-reaching enterprises in human history) accountable means taking on their market power.</p> <p><a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/republicans-talk-about-taking-on-big-tech-bidens-doing-it?source=articles&via=rss">Read more at The Daily Beast.</a></p><!-- /wp:html -->

Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast

In a polarized political environment, the cause of reining in Big Tech companies (Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook) is one supported across party lines.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden wrote a rare op-ed in The Wall Street Journal urging bipartisan cooperation to hold Big Tech accountable. More than an aspirational plea for bipartisan unity, the article is also a direct challenge to Republican leadership to “put-up-or-shut-up” on taking Big Tech to task.

While Republicans feign outrage about the tech giants on the campaign trail, the likes of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Jim Jordan continue to drag their heels on meaningful antitrust reform. Though public discourse around Big Tech often centers on the issues of misinformation or alleged “censorship”, holding the tech giants (among the largest and widest-reaching enterprises in human history) accountable means taking on their market power.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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