In an effort to defend free speech and resist censorship of conservative speech by big tech companies, The Heritage Foundation, one of the oldest conservative think tanks in the U.S., recently rejected six-figure donations from big tech companies Google and Facebook.
According to U.S. news site Axios, Kay Cole James, president of the Heritage Foundation, sent a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stating that the conservative nonprofit would reject about $400,000 in donations from the two companies.
This is a major move for the Heritage Foundation. In the past, they have accepted large donations from big tech companies such as Google and Facebook. Google has reportedly donated $1.55 million to the organization, and Facebook has given $275,000.
“We cannot in good conscience accept money from a company that has repeatedly and blatantly suppressed conservative speech on its platform,” James told Pichai.
In his letter to Zuckerberg, James mentioned, “Recently, you added a prominent hashtag to our election integrity video, in an apparent effort to cast doubt on the credibility of our claims about the risks of mail-in voting.”
Axios reports that the foundation rejected a huge $225,000 donation from Google. They also said they would refund Facebook’s $150,000 donation.
In the letter, James emphasized that the organization is helping Congress change the antitrust law that currently effectively protects big tech companies from liability for content posted on their social media platforms.
James said the Heritage Foundation is reviewing those proposals and cannot allow anyone to assume that the foundation’s conclusions were influenced by donations from big tech companies.
On Thursday, the CEOs of Google, Facebook and Twitter testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee (HECC). They were asked about the Communications Decency Act (CDA, Section 230) and whether Big Tech should be regulated.
U.S. Republicans want to ensure free speech. Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, the ranking Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, said Wednesday that he will no longer accept contributions from big tech companies, including Facebook, Google and Amazon, and that big tech companies must be held accountable for their “anticompetitive” and The large tech companies must be held accountable for their “anti-competitive” and “monopolistic” behavior.
Buck has introduced legislation to protect small media organizations from the monopoly power of big tech. He said, “One of the fundamental values of our country is a free press, but we have seen thousands of news organizations crushed by the monopoly power of big tech.”
Florida Republican Representatives Matt Gaetz (R) and Greg Steube (R) have also said they will no longer accept donations from big tech companies.
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