Big Tech

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.”

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking for an investigation into Zynn. Zynn, an app almost identical to TikTok, has quickly risen to the top of the app store charts and pays users for views and referring friends. In the letter, Senator Hawley raises concerns that the app’s immediate dominance may drive competitors out of the market, notes that Zynn’s parent company, Kuaishou, has ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and has engaged in promoting...

U.S. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) wrote to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging the agency to investigate new evidence that the popular video social media platform TikTok has violated the privacy of its young users and failed to abide by the terms of a 2019 settlement with the FTC.

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey questioning why Twitter should continue to receive special immunity from the federal government after choosing to editorialize on President Trump’s tweets. Twitter currently receives special immunity under the law in what’s known as Section 230, which states that companies that merely distribute user content should not be treated like a publisher, such as the New York Times or the Washington Post. But, with Twitter’s...

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Google CEO Sunday Pichai calling on the company to provide an explanation for reports that YouTube is censoring comments critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In his letter, Senator Hawley describes a disturbing pattern of Google’s censoring criticism to curry favor with the CCP, calling for a specific account of when the company became aware of this “error” and what steps they have taken to correct it.

Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) today wrote to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging it to use its authority under the FTC Act to launch an investigation into children’s data practices in the educational technology and digital advertising sectors. The Senators make their request following the Commission’s announcement that it will begin an ahead-of-schedule...

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in introducing the Countering Chinese Attempts at Snooping Act (CCAS) to prohibit U.S. federal employees from conducting official business on platforms run by Tencent, Huawei, ZTE, and other companies the State Department determines cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In light of the United Nations’ (UN) recent consideration of a partnership with Tencent, the CCAS Act also ensures U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used...

Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr requesting the Department of Justice (DOJ) open a criminal antitrust investigation of Amazon. Recent reporting has revealed that Amazon uses its position as an online platform to stifle competition by collecting detailed data on merchandise in order to create rival products under its own brand. "Abusing one’s position as a marketplace platform to create copycat products always is bad, but it is especially...

"If you seek to assure the public, make your stake in this project personal. Make a commitment that you and other executives will be personally liable if you stop protecting privacy, such as by granting advertising companies access to the interface once the pandemic is over. The public statements you make now can be enforced under federal and state consumer protection laws. Do not hide behind a corporate shield like so many privacy offenders have before. Stake your personal finances on the...