Blumenthal, Cicilline Blame Big Tech for Mishandling COVID-19 Misinformation

Big Tech isn’t doing enough to combat online misinformation during the pandemic, because of either incompetence or profit motives, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I. Inexcusable inaction -- most recently with fake masks and COVID-19 cures -- is “at best willful ignorance and at worst putting profits over people,” Blumenthal said during a George Washington University event. “I will continue fighting for new laws and push for real enforcement to protect Americans against online swindlers and those tech companies that enable them.” Cicilline claimed misinformation is “either too profitable to eliminate completely, or that these platforms are simply too massive to manage,” questioning whether platforms should be allowed to profit from harmful content. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., also appeared Tuesday. Their offices didn’t comment. The Internet Association didn’t comment.