Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is taking investigative action against Big Tech companies, he announced on Wednesday, including Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter. The probe seeks to determine whether the companies harm consumers in Indiana via “abusive, deceptive, and/or unfair” business practices on the platforms.
The probe is also aimed at determining whether companies “limited consumers’ access to certain content,” in reference to censorship of conservative viewpoints. He noted that these “manipulation” tactics inhibit consumers from making “informed choices.”
In addition to the inquiry into Big Tech companies, Rokita is continuing to speak out against President Biden’s nominee to serve as Associate Attorney General, Vanita Gupta, who is alleged to have encouraged online censorship of conservative views. He argues that consumers' "access to information" and "opportunity to express political viewpoints" must not be compromised in a free society.
“In a free society, few assets are more important to consumers than access to information and the opportunity to express political viewpoints in meaningful forums,” Rokita said. “It is potentially harmful and unfair for these companies to manipulate content in ways they do not publicly discuss or that consumers do not fully understand.”
Rokita joins a growing number of Republicans in speaking out against Gupta, one of Biden’s more controversial nominees. The nominee encouraged Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to implement “more rigorous rules and enforcement" in speech policing on the platform.