Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are releasing their own report on Big Tech on Tuesday, countering a Democratic report that they accuse of being too radical in its antitrust proposals.
The Democrats’ draft report, which leaked on Twitter earlier in the day, accused Big Tech companies of engaging in anti-competitive behavior and called for a massive antitrust shakeup of the industry, including preventing Google from owning YouTube and prohibiting Amazon from selling its own products on its marketplace platform. Rep. Ken Buck called these proposals ‘non-starters for conservatives’.
The Republicans’ report, which is signed by Ranking Member Jim Jordan and Reps. Doug Collins, Ken Buck, Matt Gaetz and Greg Steube, proposes less dramatic measures, such as reforming Section 230 to limit the types of content that tech companies can moderate and providing resources for tougher enforcement of current anti-trust laws. They also allege that Democrats ignored allegations of censorship or bias against conservatives during the course of the Committee’s investigation into Big Tech companies. The report cites numerous examples where these companies censored members of Congress and the President, demonetized or de-platformed conservative groups, buried conservative websites in search results, and other examples of bias.
‘During this investigation, Democrats have rejected opportunities to explore concerns about bias, censorship, and cancel culture. But ignoring or scoffing at evidence does not erase it. Congress should take immediate steps to preserve robust freedoms of speech and expression,’ the report says.
[special_offer]
Ranking Member Jordan accused Democrats of using the investigation into Big Tech as a cover for advancing ‘radical’ anti-trust reforms in a letter to Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, which was obtained by The Spectator.
‘The Democrat report and your unwillingness to address anti-conservative bias in Big Tech show that this investigation has been a flawed exercise toward a predetermined outcome,’ Jordan wrote.
Jordan also noted that the Trump administration is currently conducting its own investigation into Big Tech companies, suggesting that any major proposals put forth by the Democrats are premature pending the results of that investigation.
