Big Tech 'censorship'? Republican lawmakers ask FTC to probe allegations of bias

Two prominent Republican lawmakers asked the Federal Trade Commission Monday to investigate how big tech companies curate their content, citing the “enormous influence” wielded by Twitter, Facebook and Google.

The letter, from Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Ted Cruz, R-Tex., asks the agency to seek information on the conduct and practices of big tech companies, specifically regarding what content they restrict or promote and how those decisions are made. The effort is part of a larger push by some Republicans against what they characterize as anti-conservative censorship by tech companies -- an accusation that Silicon Valley has consistently denied.

“Big tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter exercise enormous influence on speech” Hawley and Cruz said in a letter. “They control the ads we see, the news we read, and the information we digest. And they actively censor some content and amplify other content based on algorithms and intentional decisions that are completely nontransparent.”