By Mariane Angela, Daily Caller News Foundation | February 26, 2025
Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday on Newsmax that he plans to expose and go after big tech companies for suppressing conservative media. Cruz initiated a subpoena through his Senate Commerce Committee against Bonterra, an online service provider accused last year of censoring conservatives, demanding documents related to the deplatforming of the Independent Women’s Forum. During an appearance on “Carl Higbie: Frontline” Cruz said the goal is twofold: exposure and legal action.
“You start with exposure, because Big Tech often hides behind. They deny that they’re doing anything, and they’re the custodians of all the information. So if someone is shadow-banned on old Twitter or on Facebook, they say, ‘Well, there’s no empirical evidence. There’s no data that shows this is happening,'” Cruz told Carl Higbie. “That’s because you have all the data. And so exposing it is the first step.”
The senator said his strategy involves not just bringing these issues to light but also leveraging the full might of the federal government.
“There are lots of tools. I’ll tell you, I’ve met with President Trump’s chairman of his FCC and the chairman of the FTC, in addition to many officials at the Department of Justice,” Cruz said. “And I believe this administration is going to use the law enforcement power. The federal government is going to use the antitrust laws and the consumer protection laws to go after Big Tech censorship.”
Under Cruz’s leadership, the Commerce Committee plans to wield its substantial authority, including the power to issue subpoenas, to challenge and curtail what Cruz calls “Big Tech censorship.”
“We have jurisdiction over about 40% of the U.S. economy, and that includes all of Big Tech. That includes AI and Big Tech, and when it comes to Big Tech censorship, I think Big Tech censorship is the single greatest threat to free speech in America and the single greatest threat to free and fair elections,” Cruz said.
The committee has already scheduled votes on several subpoenas intended to bring transparency and accountability to the operations of major tech companies.
“So we’ve actually noticed subpoenas that the committee will be voting on next week, and it’s the first in what I expect to be multiple subpoenas, because we are going to bring transparency, and we are going to stop Big Tech censorship practices,” Cruz said.
Reflecting on the challenges faced during the first Trump administration, where efforts to tackle Big Tech censorship met with internal resistance, Cruz said he’s hopeful for the current term.
“In the first Trump term, I tried to get the administration to do that. And, unfortunately, the Cabinet, they were not able to come together and get that done. I’m much more optimistic in this second term that they’re going to execute on what President Trump wants and what’s the right thing to do for the American people,” Cruz said.
Conservative media voiced strong objections against what they perceive as systemic bias and censorship from both the government and major tech platforms. Recent developments indicate that actions are being taken to address these concerns as President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending what is termed “government censorship” on online platforms, highlighting past government activities that are said to have infringed on free speech by compelling third-party platforms to moderate content in a biased manner.
Mariane Angela is a news reporter at the Daily Caller News Foundation
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