WASHINGTON – Thirty-two groups sent a letter today to President-elect Joe Biden urging him to exclude Big Tech executives, lobbyists, lawyers and consultants from his administration.
Tech companies like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft represent serious threats to privacy, democracy, innovation and Americans’ economic well-being, the groups noted, and these companies won’t be held accountable unless the Biden administration closes the decades-old revolving door.
“We believe that your administration must confront the threats posed by the monopolistic Big Tech companies that have exploited consumer privacy, threatened our democracy, stifled innovation, and profited from the pandemic. The time to hold these companies accountable and rein in their power is now. However, we can only bring these companies to account if you do not rely on affiliates of these very companies to make up your government,” the letter reads.
Recent polling from the Pew Research Center showed that nearly half of Americans want to see Big Tech regulated, and it appears that Congress, federal agencies and the states agree.
The U.S. House Antitrust Subcommittee just completed a historic investigation into the monopoly abuses of Big Tech, and found bipartisan support for legislative and regulatory reforms to rein in their power. Further, the U.S. Department of Justice recently joined with a group of state attorneys general to file a historic antitrust suit against Google, and a bipartisan group of states are planning to file an addition suit against Google soon. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission and numerous states are investigating Facebook, Amazon and Apple.
Big Tech companies are the subject of bipartisan investigation and skepticism and should not be a source for personnel in the Biden administration, the groups maintain.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
