On Friday, Chamber of Progress called on Democratic antitrust leaders Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-NY) and Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) to disavow recent Republican comments suggesting antitrust legislation or regulation be used as a weapon to punish companies speaking out against discriminatory laws. 

Chamber of Progress’ letter comes after remarks made last week by Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) and Fox News host Laura Ingraham, both calling for antitrust legislation and regulation to be used as a punishment for companies speaking out against Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law and other discriminatory measures. Rep. Buck commented that antitrust legislation was the best tool for striking back at “woke” companies while Ingraham used her show to threaten Apple and Disney with antitrust action. 

From the letter to Sen. Klobuchar and Rep. Cicilline:

“Silence when political figures threaten to use antitrust as a weapon against companies opens the door to more such attacks.  I encourage you, as sponsors of leading antitrust legislation in Congress, to disavow the comments made by Rep. Buck and Ms. Ingraham and acknowledge that antitrust action should never be used as a weapon against companies working to protect marginalized communities or to stand up for what’s right.”

Read Chamber of Progress’s full letter to Sen. Klobuchar and Rep. Cicilline here.

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a new center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.