<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><a href="https://prospect.org/blogs/tap/wyden-sticks-it-to-biden-for-big-tech/" class="">https://prospect.org/blogs/tap/wyden-sticks-it-to-biden-for-big-tech/</a><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width: 487.5pt; background-color: white; min-width: auto;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td width="650" valign="top" id="qt-layout-row-margin17348" style="width: 487.5pt; padding: 0in; min-width: 100%;" class=""><div align="center" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="650" style="width: 487.75pt;"><tbody class=""><tr id="qt-layout-row17354" class=""><td valign="top" id="qt-layout-row-margin17354" style="padding: 7.5pt 0in;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width: 650.328125px; min-width: 100%; border-collapse: initial !important;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td valign="top" id="qt-layout-row-padding17354" style="padding: 3.75pt 0in; min-width: 100%; border-collapse: initial !important;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width: 650.328125px;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td width="650" valign="top" id="qt-text_div17245" style="width: 487.5pt; padding: 0in; min-width: 100%;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: "Arial Black", sans-serif;" class="">JUNE 16, 2021</span></b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr id="qt-layout-row17358" class=""><td valign="top" id="qt-layout-row-margin17358" style="padding: 3.75pt 0in;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width: 650.328125px; min-width: 100%; border-collapse: initial !important;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td valign="top" id="qt-layout-row-padding17358" style="padding: 3.75pt 0in;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width: 650.328125px; min-width: 100%;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td width="650" valign="top" id="qt-text_div17249" style="width: 487.5pt; padding: 0in; outline: none; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: inherit; text-decoration-thickness: inherit; text-decoration-style: inherit; text-decoration-color: inherit;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="size"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Arial Black", sans-serif; color: rgb(241, 90, 34);" class="">Kuttner on TAP</span></span><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr id="qt-layout-row17360" class=""><td valign="top" id="qt-layout-row-margin17360" style="padding: 3.75pt 0in;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width: 650.328125px; min-width: 100%; border-collapse: initial !important;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td valign="top" id="qt-layout-row-padding17360" style="padding: 3.75pt 0in;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width: 650.328125px; min-width: 100%;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td width="650" valign="top" id="qt-text_div17251" style="width: 487.5pt; padding: 0in; outline: none; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: inherit; text-decoration-thickness: inherit; text-decoration-style: inherit; text-decoration-color: inherit;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="size"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Arial Black", sans-serif;" class="">Wyden Sticks It to Biden (for Big Tech)</span></b></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr id="qt-layout-row17357" class=""><td valign="top" id="qt-layout-row-margin17357" style="padding: 3.75pt 0in;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width: 650.328125px; min-width: 100%; border-collapse: initial !important;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td valign="top" id="qt-layout-row-padding17357" style="padding: 3.75pt 0in;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width: 650.328125px; min-width: 100%;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td width="650" valign="top" id="qt-text_div17248" style="width: 487.5pt; padding: 0in; outline: none; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: inherit; text-decoration-thickness: inherit; text-decoration-style: inherit; text-decoration-color: inherit;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="size"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The bipartisan China bill that passed the Senate is mostly cause for celebration. But buried in the bill is a provision inserted by Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, the senator from the state of Techmonoplia.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><br class=""><br class=""><span class="size">Wyden’s provision uses U.S. trade law to punish other countries that have the effrontery to regulate Big Tech with regard to worker rights, consumer privacy, or anti-monopoly measures. These would be defined as restraints of trade and be subject to trade investigations and sanctions.</span><br class=""><br class=""><span class="size">Basically, Wyden took a provision of the 1974 Trade Act known as Special 301, allowing unilateral U.S. action against trade violations. This provision has been largely moribund, except for a special ploy that Big Pharma got enacted in 1984 under Reagan, which requires regular investigations by the U.S. trade rep and possible penalties in cases where any foreign nations dare to regulate pharmaceuticals.</span><br class=""><br class=""><span class="size">Now Big Tech wants the same special treatment as Big Pharma, and Wyden is doing his best to deliver it. (It’s a fitting pairing—the two most predatory of U.S. industries.)</span><br class=""><br class=""><span class="size">What’s bizarre is this rider is attached to a bill directed at abusive practices on the part of China. But Wyden’s measure applies to the whole world and does little to address Chinese censorship.</span><br class=""><br class=""><span class="size">The special protection for platform monopolies is also at odds with the Biden administration’s emerging strategy of reining in the abuses of Big Tech. Yesterday, the administration designated the amazing Lina Khan as chair of the Federal Trade Commission, knowing full well that her top priority is to extend antitrust principles to the platform monopolies such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon.</span><br class=""><br class=""><span class="size">The Senate bill still has to pass the House. There is a chance that the offending provisions could be rejected on the House floor, but Wyden hopes to make them even more of a sweetheart measure for Big Tech when the bill goes to conference.</span><br class=""><br class=""><span class="size">Wyden, from Oregon, is supposed to be some kind of liberal, and on some issues he is. But Wyden is the best water carrier the platform monopolies have in Congress. With just 50 senators in the Democratic caucus, we’ve all been worried about the havoc wreaked on Biden’s agenda by Joe Manchin. He’s not the only one.</span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">
Arthur Stamoulis<br class="">Citizens Trade Campaign<br class="">(202) 494-8826<br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">
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