U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Bust Up Big Tech Act, new legislation to restore accountability and competition to Big Tech. Senator Hawley’s bill would break up Big Tech companies seeking to dominate multiple industries simultaneously, by banning companies like Amazon from marketing their own retail goods alongside those of other sellers or providing online hosting or cloud services to an ever-growing swath of the internet—including competitors. The law would also empower the FTC to monitor compliance and strengthen antitrust enforcement.
Big Tech
Hawley, Colleagues Call for Judiciary Hearing on Obama-Biden FTC’s Sweetheart Deal with Google
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent letters to Federal Trade Commission Acting Chair (FTC) Rebecca Slaughter and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) calling for a public Judiciary Hearing into recent revelations that the Obama FTC failed to enforce antitrust law in an 2011 investigation of Google and instead let the company off with a slap on the wrist. The senators call for testimony from Google executives and relevant FTC officials, including the former Commissioners who now represent big tech firms.
Hawley Calls for Hearings on Obama FTC’s Sweetheart Treatment of Google, Failure to Enforce Antitrust Laws
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called for the Senate Judiciary Committee to schedule hearings on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) sweetheart treatment of Google and failure to enforce antitrust laws under the Obama Administration.
Hawley Blasts Wall Street, Hedge Funds Over Robinhood Scandal
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) blasted big banks and hedge funds over their role in freezing out day traders and small investors from trading Robinhood stock. Senator Hawley said Wall Street has deemed itself too big to fail but is rigging the system against anyone else.
Hawley Calls to Unwind Facebook Mergers with Instagram, WhatsApp
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) voiced his support for the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) announcement that it will launch an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook to seek the divestiture of Instagram and WhatsApp from the powerful tech giant. This comes as 46 state attorneys general announced today that they are launching a similar lawsuit of their own. This is a necessity. The @instagram and WhatsApp mergers with @Facebook were anti-competitive, they were meant to be anti-competitive,...
Senator Hawley Continues to Press Facebook, Twitter for Answers on Coordinated Censorship, User Tracking
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) submitted questions to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for the Senate Committee on the Judiciary record following their hearing last week. In his questions, Senator Hawley continues to press both CEOs on their companies practices of coordinated censorship and tracking of users all across the web.
Hawley Reveals Existence of Coordination Tool Used By Big Tech Firms to Censor Users & Facebook Tool to Covertly Track Users Across Internet
In a U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) revealed an internal tool used by Facebook, Google and Twitter to coordinate the censorship of users. Senator Hawley also revealed an internal tool used by Facebook to track the actions of users across the internet that was previously believed to be private. The use of the internal tools was disclosed to Senator Hawley by a whistleblower from Facebook.
Senator Hawley Statement on DOJ Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google
“Today’s lawsuit is the most important antitrust case in a generation. Google and its fellow Big Tech monopolists exercise unprecedented power over the lives of ordinary Americans, controlling everything from the news we read to the security of our most personal information. And Google in particular has gathered and maintained that power through illegal means. That is why I launched a sweeping antitrust investigation of Google when I was Missouri Attorney General, and that’s why I stand behind the Department of Justice’s actions today. But to be clear – this is just a first step, and I will continue to fight for the legislative solutions needed to end the tyranny of Big Tech.”
Senator Hawley Blasts Facebook for Rejecting Ads from Pro-Life Groups
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg questioning the company’s suspension of advertising privileges for pro-life groups, including Susan B. Anthony List and Missouri-based Choose Life Marketing. The Susan B. Anthony List ads were rejected from Facebook on the basis of a draft “fact check” from the anti-Trump news site The Dispatch, while Choose Life Marketing had its ad distribution privileges abruptly suspended with no policy explanation from Facebook.
Following Potential Campaign Finance Violation, Hawley to Call Facebook & Twitter CEOS to Testify Regarding Censorship of NY Post Story
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, announced he would call Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify on potential violations of federal election law in their censorship of the New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden. Senator Hawley has also called on the Federal Election Commission to open an investigation in the matter.