Anti-Abortion Organizations and Tech CEOs Celebrate Trump’s Win
View this email in your browser ([link removed])
** CfA's November 8, 2024 Newsletter
------------------------------------------------------------
With your support, Campaign for Accountability is working to expose corruption and hold the powerful accountable.
** This Week's Updates:
------------------------------------------------------------
Anti-Abortion Organizations Celebrate Trump Victory
Earlier this year, anti-abortion advocates grew frustrated ([link removed]) with Donald Trump as he distanced himself from their cause by downplaying ([link removed]) his position on abortion and “vowing” to veto a federal ban ([link removed]) should it come to his desk. Now, though, the movement and its leaders are celebrating ([link removed]) Trump’s victory, characterizing it as a national rejection of reproductive rights.
“With a likely GOP trifecta, we have the opportunity to undo the damage caused by the Biden-Harris admin and then boldly go on the offensive,”said ([link removed]) Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. Heartbeat International, an organization which provides services to unregulated pregnancy clinics (UPCs), released a statement ([link removed]) declaring that Americans had elected “pro-life majorities with a mandate to act boldly.” In April, CfA urged ([link removed]) multiple state Attorneys General to investigate UPCs affiliated with Heartbeat, which may have violated consumer protection laws and misled patients about the privacy of their health information.
Oversight of unregulated entities that purport to provide healthcare services is critical. Though the movement is emboldened by Trump’s win, it is still constrained by existing laws that protect Americans from fraud. This is especially relevant to UPCs, which often rely on deceptive practices ([link removed]) to prevent women from accessing abortions. Going forward, CfA will continue to investigate individuals and organizations that break the law and endanger people seeking reproductive care.
Tech CEOs Prepare for a Second Trump Presidency
In October, Donald Trump revealed ([link removed]) that he was in communication with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who had called the former president to gauge his stance on antitrust enforcement. At the time, Trump said he “wouldn’t allow” the EU to take action against Apple or other American businesses. In hindsight, other tech leaders were also preparing for a Trump victory; Mark Zuckerberg referred to Trump as a “badass ([link removed]) ” before renouncing ([link removed]) his company’s COVID policies, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos personally intervened ([link removed]) to prevent The Washington Post from endorsing Vice President Kamala
Harris. Given these early reactions, it seems likely that tech CEOs will continue down a path of appeasement and flattery, in the hopes of earning Trump’s goodwill and avoiding serious reform.
Down the road, however, the Trump Administration could clash with tech companies over issues like content moderation, which Trump has repeatedly ([link removed]) characterized ([link removed]) as “censorship.” The administration may also weaponize other policy proposals, like Section 230 liability reform, to help favored online platforms get ahead. Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance, for instance, has voiced his support ([link removed]) for a Section 230 carve-out that would exempt “new entrants” from liability – giving them a massive advantage over mainstream online spaces like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. In 2023, CfA’s Tech Transparency Project (TTP) published a report
([link removed]) explaining how this policy would benefit platforms like Rumble, an “alt-tech” YouTube competitor which Vance is invested in.
Google Avoids Election Misinformation Pitfalls
In 2020 ([link removed]) and 2022 ([link removed]) , TTP investigations revealed that Google was placing scam advertisements in search results for voting information, sending would-be voters to websites that stole their personal information or charged bogus “registration fees.” While Google has struggled ([link removed]) to prevent bad actors from taking advantage of its search ads, these voting-related scams are particularly dangerous because they can discourage voters from casting a ballot. The search giant promised ([link removed]) to do better in 2024, and outlined
([link removed]) the steps it would take to present users with accurate information about voting.
Of course, TTP opted to test Google’s anti-scam safeguards. In early October, researchers set up clean VPNs and used Google to search for voting information in different states. TTP collected a total of 198 advertisements from the first ten pages of search results and found that none led to scams or data-harvesting websites. Meta, meanwhile, approved thousands of pro-Trump scam advertisements ([link removed]) in the months leading up to the election.
CfA Executive Director Michelle Kuppersmith said, “This year, Google did the right thing and finally stopped allowing bad actors to mislead American voters using search engine advertisements. It’s time for other platforms to follow suit, and actually enforce their policies against deceptive and illegal activity.”
What We're Reading
“Predatory pricing”: Lawmakers call upon the FTC to investigate Albertsons, other major supermarkets ([link removed])
Study maps how nonprofit religious groups set up facilities near abortion clinics ([link removed])
Abortion Costs Can Triple for Women Coming From Out of State ([link removed])
** Follow Our Work:
------------------------------------------------------------
We thank you for your continued support. Without people like you, our work would not be possible.
Here is how you can stay involved and help us accomplish our mission:
1. Follow CfA on Threads ([link removed]) and BlueSky ([link removed])
2. Follow the Tech Transparency Project on Threads ([link removed]) and Bluesky ([link removed])
3. Tell your friends and colleagues ([link removed]) about CfA.
4. Send us a tip ([link removed]) .
5. Make a tax-deductible donation ([link removed]) .
Be on the lookout for more updates about our work in the upcoming weeks. Thanks again for signing up to be a part of CfA!
Sincerely,
Michelle Kuppersmith
Executive Director, Campaign for Accountability
============================================================
** Website ([link removed])
Copyright © 2024 Campaign for Accountability, All rights reserved.
You signed up for this list at campaignforaccountability.org
Our mailing address is:
Campaign for Accountability
611 Pennsylvania Ave SE
#337
Washington, District Of Columbia 20003
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]
