Republicans have outdone each other in their rhetorical attacks on big tech companies out of frustration over former President Trump’s deplatformation and the perceived bias of social media companies against conservative voices. Now they find themselves in a strange place – like the proverbial dog that finally catches the moving car.
A package of anti-tech corporate legislation is being removed from an important US House of Representatives committee, various news reports have said. The bills are alarmingly far-reaching and run counter to Republican opposition to extending the federal government’s reach to the private sector.
One measure would require the dissolution of Amazon, Facebook, and other tech companies, while another would ban policies that benefit the platforms’ own products. This means that Apple could not “self-prefer” its own products in its App Store, which is like forcing Ford to showcase Hondas in its stores.
Another bill would restrict acquisitions of tech companies, while another would increase merger filing fees. One measure would encourage litigation against the companies. These efforts by Congress could add power and budget to federal agencies, which a Democratic Socialist would support rather than a Conservative Republican.
The new measures are nonetheless supported by both parties, with prominent populist Republicans such as MP Ken Buck from Colorado signing up. “If we don’t start somewhere, if we don’t do anything, the problem will be much bigger,” he said in a report in the Wall Street Journal. We are always suspicious of the “We must do something” law school, as government duties always lead to far-reaching and worrying unintended consequences.
This is the case when the legislature allows their emotions to prevail against principled legislation. We certainly understand the Republicans’ frustration with some of the particular platform choices Facebook, Amazon, and YouTube are making, but the best approach is to let the market sort these things out through competition, social pressure, and private regulators.
Fortunately, some prominent Republicans are beginning to realize that passing laws advocated by some of the most liberal members of Congress may not lead to their ultimate benefit. A spokesman for the House of Representatives minority leader Kevin McCarthy told the Wall Street Journal that anti-tech legislation “only gives the Democrats in the federal government more power to tip the scales.”
McCarthy promised his own GOP legislative package, which is believed to be a lot less intrusive than the measures now on the table. The California Republican has slammed tech firms many times. For example, in May he said it was time to “curb the power of big tech over our speech.”
But now McCarthy seems to have recognized one of the oldest axioms in politics: Before proposing a new law or regulation, imagine what your political enemies will do with those powers. As Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Wash., Told the Journal, “There is nothing conservative about giving Biden politicians more power.”
Unfortunately, Republican rhetoric set the stage for one of the largest potential government seizures over the private sector in decades.
Giving government control of business decisions will only jeopardize the economy and stifle the innovation that is at the core of tech companies’ success. More Republicans need to rediscover their free market principles before, as HL Mencken wrote, they get what they want – good and hard.
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