- More than a dozen progressive organizations released an open letter to President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday, warning against appointing anyone with “ga ties ties with Google” in his administration.
- The groups wrote that they “want to make sure that the Internet is not dominated by a handful of corporations and that it is free and open.”
- The groups said Biden’s former CEO, Eric Schmidt, should be avoided from the role, after a Financial Times story called Schmidt a potential lead for a new tech task force at Biden’s White House.
- In a letter to Biden, Schmidt’s appointment would “break the Democratic Alliance” and “risk a split in the majority of voters.”
- A source familiar with the matter told the record that the Biden transition team had not discussed the planned role for Schmidt.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
More than a dozen progressive groups published an open letter to President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday, advising him to appoint people with “Ga ties ties to Google” for senior roles in his administration. Don’t.
1 Progressive groups, including the Riv progress Living Door project, a group that investigates the appointment of officers to office – urged Biden to “take a hard line against the influence of individuals with close ties to Google.”
The groups wrote that they “want to make sure that the Internet is not dominated by a handful of corporations and that it is free and open.”
The Financial Times reported on November 8 that Schmidt was being discussed at the White House without describing its sources as a potential lead for the new technology industry task force.
Biden has not publicly discussed Schmidt’s role, and sources in Silicon Valley, close to the Biden team, told the record on Tuesday that they have no plans to appoint Schmidt. A source familiar with the matter also said the Biden transition team had not discussed a planned role for Schmidt.
A Schmidt spokesman declined to comment to Business Insider.
The letter, also signed by the Open Markets Institute, Communications Workers of America, Action Center Race and Race and Economy, and others, said Schmidt’s appointment would remove “an overwhelming majority of voters” … who want to see. The economic power of big corporations is quiet. “
“In reviewing the announcements of its agency review teams of your transition, we have been surprised by the apparent broad influence of people who have a close business relationship with Google in general and more specifically by Eric Schmidt, the current CEO of Google with a multi-billion dollar stake. “The groups said.
The groups cited an anti-trust lawsuit filed against Google by the Justice Department on November 20. The case argues that Google deprives competitors through a network of excluded business deals, and is still the biggest legal challenge for a tech giant.
They said Schmidt’s appointment to a senior U.S. government position has had a chilling effect on U.S. antimonopoly policy.
The letter said Schmidt’s appointment would “break the Democratic Alliance” and “risk losing the majority of voters”.
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The groups also drew attention to the news that Schmidt, being granted citizenship per European island, Cyprus, would be able to travel to the European Union and possibly receive tax benefits. Schmidt declined to comment on the record at the time.
With this news in mind, Schmidt’s appointment will send a “dangerous message” during the period of “id historical wealth inequality.”
Schmidt is worth about 15 15 billion and is one of the richest people on the planet.
The groups also cited a survey by an organization called Demand Progress, in which more than half agreed that Biden should refuse to appoint anyone with ties to the Bigtech companies being sued by the Justice Department.
“The American people are divided on many issues, but not on what they see as fundamental issues of legal and economic justice,” he said.
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