Miss. Senator calls out conservative email suppression.
On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., joined U.S. Senator John Thune, R-S.D., and 26 other Republican senators to introduce the Political Bias in Algorithm Sorting (BIAS) Emails Act.
The legislation would hold Big Tech platforms accountable for using biased algorithms that covertly alter the way users are able to see emails from political campaigns and take control away from consumers. It would also require more transparency by revealing the censorship practices used by Big Tech platforms, including Google, to filter certain emails.
The legislation follows the release of a non-partisan study that found during the 2020 election Google’s algorithm marked as spam nearly 70 percent of emails from Republican campaigns compared to only eight percent of emails from Democrat campaigns.
Senator Wicker said that he is glad to join his colleagues on a measure that would protect freedom of thought and promote transparency on tech platforms that Americans depend on.
“It is increasingly clear that Big Tech companies are willing to suppress conservative views and tilt the scale in favor of liberal political campaigns. It’s a direct rebuke to what Americans expect of email providers and violates the basic principles of our political culture,” Wicker said.
Senator Thune, Republican Whip and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, led the group of Senators in introducing the legislation.
“I’ve long believed that Congress should hold Big Tech accountable to the users who rely on its platforms – for everything from email to social media – and empower those consumers to make their own online decisions, free from Big Tech’s heavy hand,” Senator Thune said. “I’m proud to lead this effort that would prohibit large online platforms from censoring emails through filtered algorithms – a process that ultimately discriminates against political campaigns. Consumers should be able to choose what they want to see, not Google. It’s long past time for Big Tech to be held accountable for its blatant bias, and this bill would be an important step in that direction.”
The legislation is also sponsored by Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Rick Scott, R-Fla., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., John Boozman, R-Ark., Mike Braun, R-Ind., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., James Lankford, R-Okla., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Tim Scott, R-S.C., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.
You can read a full copy of the The Political BIAS Emails Act below.
Political Bias in Algorithm Sorting (BIAS) Emails Act by yallpolitics on Scribd
Anne Summerhays
