Lindsey Graham Blasts Big Tech On Fox News, Promises Digital Regulatory Commission — With Elizabeth Warren

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) weighed in on the latest attacks against “big tech” on Fox News Wednesday, vowing to set up a “ digital regulatory commission” with the help of progressive stalwart Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

The exchange began with anchor John Roberts noting Twitter owner Elon Musk’s latest complaints against Apple.

“Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?” read Roberts, quoting from a recent Musk tweet.

“Well, all I can say that Apple is a private company and Twitter is a private company,” replied Graham, offering a standard pro-free market reply.

“They have their differences. I would hope that Apple would keep allowing Twitter to be part of the of the Apple store. But big tech, you can’t sue these people because of section 230 and there’s no regulatory scheme that works,” continued Graham, calling for regulation.

“So I’m going to unveil a digital regulatory commission to deal with social media companies like Apple and Twitter and Google. We need some regulatory environment to control the abuses of power here. So I’m going to do that with Elizabeth Warren,” Graham declared, adding:

You look for something that can bring us together in Washington. Social media is out of control. They need to be regulated in some fashion. And I think that brings both parties together.

“Okay. So then maybe you agree with Karine Jean-Pierre at the Biden White House who said this?” pushed back anchor Sandra Smith.

“We’re all keeping a close eye on this. We’re all monitoring what’s currently occurring. And we see you know, we see it with our own eyes of what you all are reporting and just for ourselves what’s happening on Twitter,” said the White House press secretary in a clip from Tuesday.

“So the White House says it’s keeping a close eye on what is happening at Twitter. Do you agree with that?” Smith followed up.

“No, I think somebody needs to regulate social media companies who are the largest companies on the planet. If they take down your content, I like Elon Musk. Well, there may be somebody in charge of Twitter tomorrow that I don’t like,” Graham replied, adding:

So what happens if you’re a consumer, if Twitter or any other group takes your content down? You have to appeal to the company itself. I want to create a process where a consumer can make their case that my rights were abused to somebody other than the company.

I’m not asking the White House to watch Twitter. We have a commission for securities. We have a commission for about every activity in America to make sure that consumers are protected. When it comes to social media, your privacy is at risk. Your content can be taken down because somebody doesn’t like you or what you’re saying. We need to have a system to deal with those problems.

In recent weeks, many media outlets have run headlines noting that the soon to be Republican-controlled House and many in the party have abandoned the old GOP’s pro-business, free markets mantra and embraced regulation. “GOP plans to punish ‘woke’ Wall Street,” declared Politico in a recent headline, while the Washington Post wrote, “Republicans could deepen their war with corporate America” – headlines which underscore why Graham and Warren may find some common ground on this issue.

Watch the full clip above via Fox News

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