Rodgers Cites House GOP's Anti-Big Tech Proposal in Midterm Platform

House GOP leaders formally unveiled their “Commitment to America” midterm election policy platform Friday at an event in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, but the plan’s proposals for reining in Big Tech didn’t get mention from party leaders. The proposal calls for “greater privacy and data security protections for Americans,” supplying “parents with more tools to keep their kids safe online” and preventing “companies from putting politics ahead of people.” Big Tech “has tipped the scales to silence and censor those with conservative viewpoints,” the House GOP’s plan said: “Worse than crystalizing [sic] an ideological echo chamber, these apps have proven to be incredibly addictive for children with potentially devastating consequences.” House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., who would likely become panel chair if the GOP wins control of the chamber in the November election, later talked about the tech proposal during a Fox Business Channel appearance. She cited interest in revisiting Communications Decency Act Section 230, noting major social media companies have been more interested in “censoring conservative speech online” than stopping “criminal activity” committed via their platforms. “I’m sending letters to many of the big tech companies like TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram and telling them they need to do more to stop the fentanyl sales that are killing our children,” Rodgers said. She earlier this month cited instances in which young people have had access to drugs, often laced with fentanyl, using Snapchat (see 2209150061).