John,

There’s no way to sugarcoat this. Kevin McCarthy becoming Speaker of the House is terrible news for digital rights and online freedom.

This isn’t about which party you support. Democratic leadership has been pretty awful on a lot of these issues too. But McCarthy is perhaps uniquely dangerous when it comes to tech policy fights. Here’s why:

While McCarthy likes to talk a big game about Big Tech, the reality is that many of his top aides and advisors are former Big Tech lobbyists.¹ And he took in a whopping $250,000 in campaign donations from the industry last cycle.² That’s why he opposes strong data privacy and antitrust legislation, despite overwhelming bipartisan support.³

McCarthy wants to complain about Big Tech, because he knows that’s a good talking point for the TV cameras. But behind the scenes he’s helping Big Tech lobbyists check off items on their 2023 wishlist.

That’s bad, but it gets even worse. While he opposes smart and thoughtful regulation like rules against surveillance advertising and monopoly abuse, he’s supportive of ridiculous and dangerous proposals like gutting Section 230 and allowing the government to dictate social media platforms' speech rules.

We have a lot of work to do during this Congressional session protecting people’s privacy, free speech, and human rights. But with Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, we will definitely be fighting an uphill battle every step of the way. Even more challenging for the work ahead, we’re starting off the year behind on our fundraising goals.

But you can help. Kevin McCarthy and his Big Tech advisors are going to be in charge of the House for the next two years. Will you become a monthly donor today, to help us take on corruption in Congress and fight for things like strong privacy legislation, online free expression, Big Tech accountability, and human rights?

Donate Monthly

Evan at Fight for the Future

1. McCarthy’s love-hate relationship with Silicon Valley | POLITICO

2. Kevin McCarthy - Campaign Finance Summary | OpenSecrets