Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for breaking up large tech companies at a private conservative retreat in 2021, ProPublica reported.
DeSantis said Google should be “broken up” by the U.S. government in previously unreported remarks at an invite-only retreat held by the Teneo Network, a conservative networking organization, according to ProPublica. (RELATED: Rep. Chip Roy Formally Endorses DeSantis For President Although He Has Not Announced)
SCOOP:
We obtained a private video of Ron DeSantis calling for @Google and other tech giants to be “broken up.”
The remark – made at a TENEO NETWORK event – takes his anti-big tech rhetoric beyond what he has said publicly.@propublica + @ItsDocumented: https://t.co/z3TRtyrhVY
— Andy Kroll (@AndyKroll) March 21, 2023
“Protecting the rights of folks to participate in political speech, I think is an absolutely appropriate role of government and I think that we should do all that we can,” he said, according to a video shared by the outlet.
“And I do think companies like Google should be broken up. I mean, they’re just too big, they have too much power. I think they’re exercising a more negative influence on our society than the trusts that got broken up at the early 20th century,” DeSantis added.
DeSantis was speaking with conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is now running for the Republican presidential nomination. It’s unclear how ProPublica obtained the video of DeSantis and Ramaswamy’s conversation.
DeSantis signed legislation in May 2021 preventing Big Tech companies from deplatforming political candidates and requiring transparency about changes to content moderation policies. The legislation gives protections to social media users and provides the Florida Attorney General the authority to bring action against Big Tech firms under Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
A spokesperson for DeSantis’ office referred the Daily Caller to his political team, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.