Common Dreams: With Antitrust Bills Stalled, Watchdogs Demand Schumer Disclose Big Tech Donations

August 9, 2022 Media

A coalition of watchdog organizations on Tuesday pushed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to disclose any campaign donations he’s received from major technology corporations as the New York Democrat faces growing backlash for slow-walking antitrust legislation aimed at curbing Big Tech’s monopoly power.

Spearheaded by Demand Progress, the letter notes that corporate behemoths such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Meta “have invested heavily in delaying, watering down, and defeating” the American Innovation and Choice Online Act and the Open App Markets Act, bipartisan bills designed to restrict large tech firms’ ability to crowd out and crush smaller competitors through a practice known as self-preferencing.

“Respectfully, we ask you to immediately disclose whether Big Tech companies, or their executives, employees, or affiliated advocacy organizations, have made or will be making contributions in connection with this event, and events like it, and what they are asking for in return,” reads the letter, which was also signed by the American Economic Liberties Project, Greenpeace USA, Social Security Works, and Fight for the Future.