Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R), the Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, has announced an investigation into the censorship practices of Big Tech companies.
The move comes after DirecTV dropped Newsmax from its lineup.
Sen. Cruz took to Twitter on Monday to express his intentions, writing, “Today as Ranking Member of the @SenateCommerce Committee I opened an investigation into Big Tech’s censorship. We are going to see accountability, transparency, and we’re going to shine a light on Big Tech’s efforts to silence conservatives.”
In addition to Sen. Cruz’s investigation, Republicans in Congress are also looking into the censorship practices of DirecTV and its parent company, AT&T, in regard to Newsmax.
DirecTV has stated that the removal of Newsmax and One America News (OAN) from its lineup was due to cost-cutting measures.
The company reported a profit of $2.7 billion last year. DirecTV also claimed that Newsmax was demanding excessive fees that would cost in the tens of millions of dollars.
However, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy denies these claims.
He says that Newsmax was seeking a fee of about $1 per cable subscriber per year, one of the lowest fees in cable, and the total amount of the deal was a fraction of the tens of millions of dollars that DirecTV claimed.
Despite removing Newsmax, DirecTV still carries 22 left-leaning news channels with lower ratings, many of which receive license fees.
Sen. Cruz told Fox News that the recent Twitter Files, internal company records, offered a roadmap to go after Facebook, Google, YouTube, TikTok, and all of Big Tech that is trying to silence conservatives.
He also mentioned that Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter is a game changer as it has exposed the corruption, censorship, and collusion of Big Tech with Democrats in Congress, the Biden White House, and the Deep State at the FBI, the CIA, and the DOJ.
He stated, “And now, we have the evidence, we have the emails, and it’s clear when Democrats said to move, Big Tech said, ‘How high?’ They jump on command.”
Sen. Cruz’s investigation into Big Tech censorship, along with the probe of DirecTV and AT&T, highlights the growing concern among Republicans over the censorship of conservative voices by tech companies.
