Big Tech

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) bill to ban TikTok on government devices unanimously passed the Senate. Senator Hawley’s bill, introduced with Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.), would follow up on steps already taken by the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and TSA to ban the app on federal government devices due to security concerns.

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella demanding that TikTok sever any and all ties to ByteDance and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in any potential acquisition by Microsoft. Senator Hawley writes that there have been a number of recent conflicting reports about Microsoft’s plans and it is not clear whether the app will include vulnerabilities that allow the CCP to access American users’ data.

U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers calling for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to open an investigation into Zoom and TikTok for reported violations of Americans’ civil liberties and of their close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he will introduce the Behavioral Advertising Decisions Are Downgrading Services (BAD ADS) Act, a bill to remove Section 230 immunity from Big Tech companies that display manipulative, behavioral ads or provide data to be used for them. Senator Hawley’s bill would crack down on behavioral advertising’s negative effects, which include invasive data collection and user manipulation through design choices.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously passed U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) bill to ban TikTok on government devices. Senator Hawley’s bill, introduced with Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.), will now move to the Senate floor.

Senator Hawley sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey requesting he respond to reports that a Twitter employee was involved in Wednesday’s cyberattack and, if true, when Twitter became aware of this fact. Senator Hawley also asked Dorsey to explain screenshots seeming to indicate Twitter engages in “shadowbanning” users and whether these tools have ever been applied to an elected official.

Following a massive Twitter cyberattack during which countless accounts were hacked, including those of former President Barack Obama and presidential nominee Joe Biden, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey requesting he immediately reach out the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation to take any necessary measures to secure the site.

Following reports that Google threatened to demonetize The Federalist based on its comments section, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai blasting the company for political censorship. Senator Hawley writes that Google is aware of its dominance in online advertising and, based on information provided by foreign dark-money groups, is attempting to use that power to target conservative outlets and dissenting voices.

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill to empower Americans to sue Big Tech companies who act in bad faith by selectively censoring political speech and hiding content created by their competitors. Cosponsored by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Senator Hawley’s bill would prohibit Big Tech companies from receiving Section 230 immunity unless they update their terms of service to promise to operate in good faith and pay a $5,000 fine if...

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Zoom calling for the company to choose a side: American principles and free-speech, or short-term global profits and censorship. His letter comes after Zoom chose to close the accounts of prominent U.S.-based critics of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for discussing the Tiananmen Square massacre, claiming the closures were necessary to “comply with local law.”