The president of the Trade legislature Ted Cruz of Texas and the president of the home of Justice Jim Jordan of Ohio are liable for exerting force on Google and Alphabet. Jordan sent a subpoena to Alphabet last period on interior discussions and communication with Biden's administration on content moderation. Cruz said that Google "absolutely" is its main goal among technology platforms and promised interrogations, or possibly even legislation, although it did not specify what kind of government it could develop.
Knives pointed at Google
Cruz met Google Sundar Pichai's CEO last period to give him a warning: change the Google rules on content or anticipate its anger. During an hour-long gathering not previously reported, Cruz said that he “clearly and unequivocally” told the president of the technology giant that his committee would press Google about what he called the company's continuous efforts to choke conservative content.
“Big Tech’s Censura was the most crucial topic,” said Cruz POLITICO. He admitted that he was pushing the Google Director-General for a "policy that should be implemented" and claimed that Pichai "fully understood where it came from and what we anticipate in terms of safeguarding freedom of speech."
Google spokesperson refused to comment on Cruz and Pichai's meeting.
Republicans have long argued that large Tech platforms are biased towards them, complaining that they silenced stories like Hunter Biden's laptop and blocked president Donald Trump on social media after the riots on January 6. But in the past They directed most of that anger towards Meta. — who owns Facebook and Instagram — and X previously known as Twitter.
Now it's changing. due to the fact that Meta and X make fickles to calm Republicans — and TikTok, another platform that attracted Congress' anger, now seems to be on Trump's good side — knives are pointed at Google.
Will Oliver / Pool / PAPU.S. Senator Ted Cruz at Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, USA, February 21, 2025.
“Freedom of word” and “protection against censorship”
Cruz and Jordan — in peculiar — are at an early phase of the run of force to change Google content policy to be adapted to the changes made by its corporate rivals — in peculiar recent moves Metas resulting in the completion of facts check and halt “censorship” of content that may contain misinformation.
Cruz's spokesperson did not answer the question of concrete policy changes that the senator encourages Google to do.
In a message by Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda, he said that Google is engaged in freedom of speech and “is not a social media company”, specified as Meta and X. Unlike these companies, he said, Google "never utilized facts checking as a origin in ranking algorithms nor to lower ranking or degrade content."
Cruz and Jordan present their run against Google as an effort to safe “free speech” and protection from “censorship”.
Google, unlike its main rivals, has not yet changed or importantly weakened the policies limiting disinformation or objecting speech after Trump's win.
Google's content and advertising policy has periodically attracted the anger of Cruz, Jordan and another conservative legislators. But the last major concession to the GOP came in June 2023, erstwhile YouTube, a Google video service, revoked the ban on publishing films falsely claiming that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen.
YouTube has over 250 million active users per period in the United States — much more than TikTok. Conservatives say that Google’s content policy has a immense impact on how Americans perceive politics.
— Stopping censorship online is the main precedence of the Trade Commission," Cruz said in consequence to a question about his plans for Google. “And we are going to usage all point of force we gotta defend freedom of speech on the Internet.
EPA/Will OLIVER / Pool / PAPassociate of the U.S. home of Representatives Jim Jordan at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, USA, 21 February 2025.
"They are trying to force voluntary concessions on Google"
The force from legislature is already a known problem for Silicon Valley. Adam Kovacevich, head of the technological lobbying group Chamber of advancement and erstwhile Google lobbyist, called the increasing run against the company "newest chapter in the long-term orchard" of Washington "working on content moderation".
While Pichai was besides trying to win the White home favor, appearing alongside another CEOs in Rotunda Capitol at Trump's inauguration, to which Google transferred $1 million, it did not introduce specified wide-ranging, Trump-friendly policy changes as Meta or X.
Jordan said in an interview that he wanted YouTube to offer changes akin to those observed by Republicans on both social platforms.
Among another things, these companies closed their fact-checking programs and abolished earlier restrictions on content seen as beneficial to conservatives. erstwhile asked for clarification, Jordan said Google should "allow the first amendment to be the first amendment" .
Some observers claim that GOP legislators simply want another large Tech giant to bend his knees before Republicans, and to a lesser degree are curious in detailed policy changes.
“Nu Wexler, a consultant and erstwhile communications worker for leading technology companies, including Google, said.
Google denies that its policy harms conservatives. “Our commitment to freedom of speech has helped conservative voices, subcasters and creators scope incredible scope and success on our platforms,” said Castaneda, pointing to a sharp emergence in popularity on YouTube Fox News, regular Wire and another right-wing channels.
One lobbyist of large Tech anonymously admitted that Jordan and his employees believed that compared to Meta, Google was little willing to cooperate in providing papers concerning “what the Biden administration did to force large Tech to do things.”
Another technology lobbyist, besides anonymously revealed that Jordan believed that changes in pro-Republic policy at Mark Zuckerberg were mostly driven by continued force from the home of Representatives Judiciary Committee. After taking over the committee in 2023, Jordan spent most of his word of office on the survey — and hitting — Meths for her alleged bias.
— Apparently, the committee has a manual that worked, and I would not be shocked if any of the actions on its basis went forward for its next most likely goal,” said the lobbyist.
SHAWN THEW / Pool / PAPThe CEO of Meta Mark Zuckerberg (S) at the inauguration of Donald Trump, Washington, USA, 20 January 2025.
Will Google bend under pressure?
It is not known if Google will bend under this pressure. Pichai and another Google directors in the past faced public "grilling" by legislators and came out comparatively unscathed. Court calls may uncover fresh information, but it is improbable that they themselves will force greater changes. And although Cruz said he would consider government on Google's alleged bias, earlier legislative efforts to force platforms to change course have fallen.
“ Cruz and Jordan have fewer legislative options due to the fact that the first amendment protects the moderation of content on platforms,” said Wexler. Although Republicans “could cut themselves off from Section 230” — rights that defend platforms specified as Google from lawsuits caused by user-created content, Wexler said specified a change “would harm fact Social and X more than Google”.
While leading Republicans sharpen their knives, Trump himself seems to show sympathy for a technological giant. “I love Google,” said the president at the cabinet gathering last week. "He didn't like me that much in his first term, but he likes me very much now," Trump said.
Even if Google's turn to take it in turns will come, Kovacevich says the company is well prepared to last anything that its Republicans from legislature can cook.
— All companies are very accustomed to lobbying on content policy, just as they lobby in government," Kovacevich said. - It's just the specifics of their current work in Washington... I think all companies have developed skills to deal with these kinds of demands.
