Partisan Divide Developing Over Sessions’ Tech-Antitrust Meeting
Three Republican state attorney general offices -- in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas -- told us they are poised to collaborate with U.S. AG Jeff Sessions on tech industry antitrust concerns and claims of conservative bias (see 1809070042). Democrats from New York and Massachusetts and a North Dakota Republican office said they won't be attending DOJ's Sept. 25 meeting, with the latter citing a scheduling conflict. Of all 50 state AG offices queried, 17 of the 21 that responded said they haven't received an invitation. Justice didn’t comment.
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The office of Texas AG Ken Paxton said he looks forward to participating in the upcoming discussion on “growing concerns” that social media platforms are suppressing conservative content. “This matter involves both the central tenets of our country’s free market economy and the guaranteed freedom of speech,” a spokesperson said. “We must work together to ensure that online economic competition operates fairly and transparently, so that Americans across the political spectrum can make informed choices and the public discourse can flourish.”
Louisiana's Jeff Landry plans to participate, a spokesperson said. Arkansas' Leslie Rutledge and staff have discussed a variety of issues with Sessions, including the “vitality and reliability of the tech industry,” a spokesperson said. Rutledge “will continue to work with fellow attorneys general and the DOJ to protect the constitutional rights of Americans,” the spokesperson said, without committing the AG to attending.
Barbara Underwood of New York hasn’t received an invitation and won’t attend, a spokesperson said, pointing to a tweet about the meeting. Massachusetts' Maura Healey hasn’t gotten an invitation and doesn’t plan to participate, a spokesperson said. She did not explain Healey’s reasoning. Healey recently clashed with the Trump administration over family separation at the Southwestern border. North Dakota's Wayne Stenehjem is attending another event on Sept. 25, a spokesperson said.
Other offices replying they haven't received a DOJ invitation are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Utah and Wisconsin. Spokespeople for the National Association of Attorneys General and the Democratic Attorneys General Association said their organizations aren't involved in discussions about the meeting. The Republican Attorneys General Association didn’t comment.
American Enterprise Institute policy analyst James Pethokoukis called the development a “notable escalation in Washington’s confrontation with America’s large technology companies.” He suggested the administration could be intent on “making this an issue beyond” President Donald Trump’s tweeting.
Free State Foundation President Randolph May said it’s fair for Sessions to call a meeting to look at big tech antitrust, which has been a growing concern. Government shouldn't be rushing in to regulate the industry, he said, arguing the conservative bias claims shouldn't be conflated with the antitrust discussion. Tech platforms have a First Amendment right to be protected from government intervention concerning the content on their websites. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation echoed that recently. Given the concentration of ownership with platforms like Google and Facebook, antitrust concerns might be legitimate, May said, but tech’s “dynamism” shows it would be advisable for government to tread lightly.