“Big Tech’s so-called “left-leaning” lobbyist just threatened Democrats’ Senate majority with attack ads in Georgia if they don’t get their way on antitrust,” said Sacha Haworth, Executive Director of the Tech Oversight Project. “Big Tech and their proxies spent over $100 million on attack ads targeting vulnerable Democratic senators this summer. Why should we be surprised that they are willing to hand control of the Senate over to Mitch McConnell?”
ICYMI: Big Tech’s Lobbyists Threatening Schumer’s Senate Majority
By Brendan Bordelon on 11/10/22
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— Not just wishful thinking: Spokespeople for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — who has repeatedly ( though not always believably ) expressed his wishes to bring AICOA up for a vote this cycle — did not respond when asked whether a Georgia runoff would delay a vote on the antitrust bill, or for that matter any other ambitious tech plans. But tech lobbyists have for months fought tooth and nail against the antitrust effort, and Democrats will likely think twice before holding a vote that could unleash a flood of negative ads targeting Warnock and paid for by tech money just before the runoff.
Senate Democratic leadership may also be wary of pursuing other controversial tech priorities before Georgia is resolved — chief among them the nomination of Gigi Sohn to serve as the third Democratic commissioner at the FCC. While a successful vote would at last give Democrats a majority at the telecom regulator, Sohn’s candidacy has already been wielded as a political weapon by Republicans and the telecom lobby. Asking Warnock to take a vote on Sohn before Dec. 6 could open up the senator to similar attacks.
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