Klobuchar: Republicans are 'politicizing' tech while legislation stalls

Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota accused her Republican colleagues of calling a hearing with high-profile tech executives to politicize concerns about misinformation and election interference ahead of next week's election — and asked why her own tech legislation has stalled in the Senate.

“I want to note first that this hearing comes six days before Election Day and, I believe, we're politicizing and the Republican majority is politicizing what should actually not be a partisan topic,” she said Wednesday.

The former Democratic presidential candidate then lamented that legislation she has introduced to increase online political advertising transparency and bolster election security have languished without broader support from Republicans or the White House.

Her Honest Ads Act has failed to gain momentum, Klobuchar noted during her questioning of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, asking whether his company has spent money lobbying to change or block the bill.

“I've endorsed it publicly and we've implemented it into our systems even though it hasn't become law,” Zuckerberg replied.

Unsatisfied with that answer, Klobuchar pressed further on what Zuckerberg has done to encourage Congress to make it law.

“Have you done anything to get it passed? Because we're at a roadblock on it,” she responded.

She then pointed her anger at Google CEO Sundar Pichai, whose company was recently slapped with an antitrust lawsuit by the Justice Department. Klobuchar, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary's antitrust subcommittee, noted that Google has rejected the government's accusations that it abuses its power over online search.

"I think your response isn't just defensive, it's been defiant to the Justice Department and suits all over the world," she said.