McCarthy unveils plans to hold Big Tech accountable and ‘stop the bias’ – Fox Business
Check out what's clicking on FoxBusiness.com.
House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., unveiled plans over the weekend to hold Big Tech companies accountable for what he described as "conservative censorship" and anticompetitive practices.
In a letter to fellow Republicans on Sunday, McCarthy outlined plans that would curb existing legal protections for companies like Twitter if they censor content while making it easier for state attorneys general to bring antitrust actions against tech behemoths like Google and Amazon if they break the law.
ELON MUSK TROLLS JACK DORSEY ON BITCOIN, SETS DEBATE DATE
"For the sake of preserving free speech and a free economy, its time Big Tech faces the music," McCarthy said. "House Republicans are ready to lead."
The GOP leader pointed to 2018, when conservative figures such as Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and Donald Trump Jr. were "shadow banned" on Twitter, while Google search results for "California Republicans" compared them to Nazis.
"Since then, the examples of conservative censorship and bias across internet platforms has proliferated," the letter said. "Each one of you are all too familiar with how Big Tech and its overwhelmingly liberal executives want to set the agenda and silence conservatives."
Fox News reached out to Twitter and Google for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
EXPERTS WARN BIG TECH ANTITRUST BILLS COULD SHACKLE INNOVATION AND HURT CONSUMERS
McCarthys plan, which he will be introducing this week alongside Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Cathy Rodgers, R-Wash., includes rolling back protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields online platforms from liability regarding statements made by their users. Republicans have been arguing that social media companies like Twitter and Facebook should instead be treated more like newspapers because their history of censoring posts based on their messaging is more akin to editorial decision-making than simple enforcement of site rules.
The Republican plan, referred to as the "Framework to Stop the Bias and Check Big Tech," calls for a system of transparency, which would be implemented "by mandating that any Big Tech content moderation decisions or censorship must be listed, with specificity, on a publicly available website."
The last part of the plan addresses concerns of monopolistic practices. As an example, McCarthy claimed that Amazon, Apple and Google "use their platforms to tip the scales towards higher fees and their growing product lines," and that "just about every big technology company" copies products if they are made by competitors that they cannot just acquire.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
"We will provide an expedited court process with direct appeal to the Supreme Court and empower state attorneys general to help lead the charge against the tech giants to break them up," McCarthy said. "We will also reform the administrative state and remove impediments that delay taking action on Big Tech power."
Both parties have taken steps to rein in tech giants, but McCarthy claimed that his Democratic counterparts have not sufficiently addressed the problems, and have only exacerbated the situation.
"House Democrats have advanced a plan that not only ignores addressing conservative censorship, it makes it worse," McCarthy said. "And their plan empowers a federal bureaucracy with no accountability."
Meanwhile, as leaders in Washington look to go after the tech companies, experts have warned of the unintended consequences of passing sweeping antitrust legislation.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
"Bills under review, as currently drafted, would condemn outright specified business practices and acquisitions by big digital platforms, without any inquiry into the facts on hand," former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) general counsel and Mercatus Center senior research fellow Alden Abbott said in a Thursday statement. "As such, they would outlaw and disincentivize a great deal of behavior that may benefit consumers and drive innovation."
Abbott added that the bills would "turn enforcers into regulators," which would slow innovation and spawn "economic inefficiency, to the detriment of the American economy."
Fox Business' Audrey Conklin and Megan Henney contributed to this report.
See the rest here:
McCarthy unveils plans to hold Big Tech accountable and 'stop the bias' - Fox Business
- America Is No Longer the Home of the Free Internet - The Atlantic - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- Call for censorship culture to end as Unity Mitfords German diary is revealed - The Guardian - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- Banning TikTok enables online censorship - Freedom of the Press Foundation - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- Zuckerbergs conservative pivot fogs our understanding of censorship - Kansas Reflector - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- The TikTok ban isnt about national security its censorship and government control - The Hill - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- How the Trump administration threatens internet freedoms - Al Jazeera English - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- Censorship or common sense? - Editor And Publisher Magazine - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- TikTok refugees flock to another (heavily censored) Chinese app - The Washington Post - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- Bill Burr on Adapting His Ahole Vibe, Wanting a Hostile Crowd for New Hulu Special and How a Rabbi Changed His Perspective on Censorship (EXCLUSIVE) -... - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- In Russia, Reading Can Be Harmful To Your Health - Air Mail - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- The Media Is Giving Away Its Rights Even Before Trump Tries to Take Them - The Nation - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- How Trumps Return Is Pushing the Media to Self-Censor - Mother Jones - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- From Russia to the EU: The high stakes of Metas content moderation shift - Global Voices - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- Meta is getting rid of fact checkers. Zuckerberg acknowledged more harmful content will appear on the platforms now - CNN International - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Mark Zuckerbergs excuse for ending fact-checking program is a hoax, say experts: It is a lie that we are censors - EL PAS USA - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Legislative Efforts Heat Up on Book, Curricular Censorship Attempts | Censorship News - School Library Journal - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Ok, Zuck: So You Say You're Going To Stop Censoring Conservatives; Call Me Skeptical | Tomi Lahren - Outkick - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Meta follows Musks lead on censorship but ad industry keeps its distance from panic - Digiday - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- How games might be the key to avoiding digital censorship - EurekAlert - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- The tyranny of woke censorship is finally over and its all thanks to Donald Trump - The Telegraph - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- If Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban, U.S. will see first-of-its-kind act of censorship | Opinion - Sacramento Bee - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Disney under pressure from conservative shareholders to disavow ad censorship - Washington Times - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Meta is Getting Rid of Fact-Checkers to Reduce Censorship on Facebook and Instagram - PetaPixel - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is moving moderators from California to Texas to combat concerns about bias and censorship - Business Insider - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Zuckerberg says Facebook will stop censoring and allow more political free speech: X effect - Must Read Alaska - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Students in every country have the right to free speech! Oppose the censorship of the Sri Lankan IYSSE! - WSWS - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Is the end of the Big Tech industrial censorship upon us? - The Spectator World - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Dont let Facebook off the hook for its pro-censorship past so easily - New York Post - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Mark Zuckerberg rolls back Meta censorship ahead of Donald Trump's return to White House - Washington Times - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Grounds of Getty Museum in LA Catch Fire, The Washington Posts Cartoonist Quits Over Censorship: Morning Links for January 8, 2025 - ARTnews - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Is this the end of the Big Tech censorship industrial complex? - The Spectator - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Comedian ended her 'Stockholm Syndrome' with the left, says it's become 'party of censorship' - Fox8tv - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Facebook Reverses Course On Censorship, Plus Is The Left Driven By Empathy Or Hate? with Dr. Gad Saad | Will Cain Show - Fox News - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Combating The Rising Threat Of Censorship In 2025 - The Daily Wire - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Social Media Companies Face Global Tug-of-War Over Free Speech - The New York Times - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Elon Musk accused of censoring right-wing X accounts who disagree with him on immigration - Sky News - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Conservatives continue to accuse Musk of censorship amid row over immigration - Anadolu Agency | English - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Conservatives Score Major Victory Against D.C. Censorship Cartel - AMAC Official Website - Join and Explore the Benefits - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Deepseek's V3 is the latest example of state-controlled censorship in Chinese LLMs - THE DECODER - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- How the Left Will Defend Its Censorship Regime Against Trump - Daily Signal - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Media outlets say censor barring them from reporting on reason PMs testimony put off - The Times of Israel - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- Are UT faculty hiding their political beliefs due to fear? Here's what a survey found. - Austin American-Statesman - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- Book censorship is rife on Amazon.com, according to a report from The Citizen Lab - Index on Censorship - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- Contents Unsung heroes: How musicians are raising their voices against oppression - Index on Censorship - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- Embattled Roger Ver Says US Government Tried To Subvert Bitcoin As Early as 2011 With Mass Censorship Campaign - The Daily Hodl - December 14th, 2024 [December 14th, 2024]
- Exclusive | Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt unveils bill demanding fed watchdogs keep Congress in the loop on censorship by agencies - New York Post - December 14th, 2024 [December 14th, 2024]
- Can you define pornography? Neither can the government. - ACLU - December 14th, 2024 [December 14th, 2024]
- Cosmic censorship may be hiding whats really happening inside black holes - Study Finds - December 14th, 2024 [December 14th, 2024]
- How Her Story, a Feminist Comedy, Came to Rule Chinas Box Office - The New York Times - December 14th, 2024 [December 14th, 2024]
- Syrian Activists Feared Assads Retaliation. His Fall Frees Them to Speak Openly. - The Intercept - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Texas professors self-censor for fear of retaliation, survey found - The Texas Tribune - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Protecting kids online or social media censorship? The year-end push for and against the Kids Online Safety Act - Dundalk Eagle - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Kyle Sammin: Survey reveals the worrying trends of self-censorship among UPenn and Penn State faculty - Broad + Liberty - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- More US academics self-censoring to avoid controversy - Times Higher Education - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Malaysia tightens grip on internet, in blow to online freedom - Rest of World - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- New Jersey Governor Signs Freedom to Read Bill into Law | Censorship News - School Library Journal - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Letters: Why it's better to have no library than a than a censored one - NOLA.com - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- New Jersey Protects the Freedom to Read With New Law Against Book Banning - newsbreaks.infotoday.com - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- 2024: The Year In Censorship - Book and Film Globe - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Watch the Surrealist Glass Harmonica, the Only Animated Film Ever Banned by Soviet Censors (1968) - Open Culture - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Human rights organisations condemn criminal complaint lodged against award-winning journalist Mohammed Zubair - Index on Censorship - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- State Department Closing Center That Worked to Censor Americans - NTD - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Marc Andreessen on AI, Tech, Censorship, and Dining with Trump - The FP - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- Quantum Censorship Could Hide The Awful Truth of What Lies Inside a Black Hole - ScienceAlert - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- Russia disconnects several regions from the global internet to test its sovereign net - TechRadar - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- What Is the Censorship Industrial Complex and How is it Affecting Our Free Speech Rights? - ADF International - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- Tech's actions on censorship will matter more than words, says Trump's FCC pick Brendan Carr - CNBC - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- Protecting kids online or social media censorship?: The year-end push for and against the Kids Online Safety Act - MyEasternShoreMD - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- NCAC and FIRE Express Alarm Over East Tennessee State Universitys Treatment of the FL3TCH3R Exhibit - Blogging Censorship - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- Exclusive | Gallery claims it was forced to remove Donald Trump artwork from Miamis Scope Art Show: Censorship - Page Six - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- Banned books and censorship: "an issue that affects everyone" - The Eastern Progress Online - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- China's People Deserve the TruthNot Censorship | Opinion - Newsweek - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Australia withdraws a misinformation bill after critics compare it to censorship - ABC News - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- CPJ, 24 other organizations release report on state censorship in the Americas - Committee to Protect Journalists - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Socratic Stage: The Governments Role in the Censorship Industry - New College of Florida - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Meet the American who helped ruin Albanese Government's censorship plan - Daily Mail - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- It's Time To Stand Up to Educational Censorship | Opinion - Newsweek - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Russian director on Deaf Lovers PFF controversy: Censorship is the biggest threat to art in our world - Screen International - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Protecting kids online or social media censorship?: The push for and against the Kids Online Safety Act - Belgrade News - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- My brush with censorship and what is coming - AlterNet - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]