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House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy recently tapped me to serve on a task force taking aim at the largest technology companies and their outsized influence in the industry and the country.
The Big Tech, Censorship, and Data Taskforce is tasked with proposing policies to address political bias and anti-competitive practices at the companies as well as strengthening privacy protections for consumers.
Big technology companies were born in the American Dream - challenging old business models and fostering the free exchange of information. Unfortunately, they are increasingly becoming little more than a tool for Washington Democrats to advance their woke, socialist agenda.
From silencing conservatives to promoting Democrat narratives surrounding public policy debates, the notion of impartiality at these platforms is out the window. We must do more to hold these companies accountable, promote free speech, protect consumers, and foster competition to unleash innovation.
While these attempt to virtue signal by targeting conservatives in America, they do nothing to check the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran as he incites hatred and violence while spreading disinformation. They also do little to target international criminal rings using their platforms to profit.
Earlier this year, I took Mark Zuckerberg to task for allowing human traffickers to promote their illegal activity on Facebook as they seek to exploit the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. Similarly, I questioned Zuckerberg during a 2018 hearing for not doing enough to block drug traffickers for selling deadly fentanyl on the platform and for contributing to the extinction of elephants.
Big Tech has gone unchecked for far too long. I look forward to taking them on head first.
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This week's edition of Buddy's Briefing comes to you from Glynn County where I talk about the Big Tech Task Force, Hurricane Elsa, and more:
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| From our nation's capitol CCCXX |
Tuesday, July 6, 2021: Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays of the year and this past weekend was filled with patriotic celebrations including spectacular fireworks shows.
Buddy with American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin Conference
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I was in Atlanta on Saturday where I had the honor of being the keynote speaker at the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) Annual Conference. The outgoing president of this group, whose mission is to facilitate and enable Indian American Physicians to excel in patient care, teaching and research, is Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda who practices in Douglas, GA, in Coffee County. After this great event, I headed to the Cobb County Independence Day celebration held at the Cobb Civic Center. Later, during our drive back home, I stopped by Freedom Plaza at the Georgia State Capitol where I filmed last week’s edition of Buddy’s Briefing. On Sunday I participated in the St. Simons Island Golf Cart parade before heading to our Brunswick office where I had a live interview on Fox News to discuss my trip to the border last week and the origin of the
COVID-19 virus. A link to my interview can be found here. I remained on St. Simons Island Sunday night and enjoyed a number of fireworks shows that can be seen from the beach. I’m up early this morning as I have a radio interview with Tim Bryant on Classic City Today in Athens to discuss my border trip from last week. Later in the morning, I head to Pembroke in Bryan County where I help volunteer extraordinaire, Mr. Ernie, and others with the Flag and Cross removal from their beautiful Independence Day display in the downtown area. Afterwards, I have another radio interview to discuss my border trip, this time with my good friend, John Fredericks, in Atlanta. Next, I head to our Savannah District office where I join in on our all staff conference call before heading out to a meeting downtown with Visit Savannah President Joe Marinelli as he brings me up to date on the great rebound our area is experiencing in tourism.
Buddy visits Colonial Chemical
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My next visit is to Colonial Chemical Solutions in Savannah, a leading independent chemical distributor in the Southeast region, to learn more about their Responsible Distribution Program (RDP). This is an environmental, health, safety and security program that focuses on chemical storage, handling, transportation, and disposal. Once back in our Savannah District office, I have a virtual call with We Work for Health (WWFH) as we discuss issues important to WWFH and Georgia’s patients. After participating in a Workplace Rights and Responsibilities Education session, I have a live interview with John Fredericks on his television show to discuss my border visit.
Wednesday, July 7, 2021: I’m in downtown Savannah this morning as I have a breakfast meeting with Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) columnist Patricia Murphy, who has the unenviable task of succeeding one of Georgia’s great journalists, Jim Galloway. After a great meeting, I head to America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia in Savannah as I volunteer and help pack over 82 boxes of food for those in need.
Buddy volunteers at Second Harvest Food Bank of Coastal Georgia
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Next, I head to midtown Savannah as I attend the monthly meeting of South of Derenne Avenue (SODA) business networking luncheon. This is the first time back to in-person meetings for this active group since the pandemic started and the enthusiasm among the members is obvious. Afterwards, I head to the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport where Executive Director Greg Kelly gives me an update on the great work being done at Georgia’s second largest airport. My last appointment of the day is a formal interview with Patricia Murphy as we discuss issues important to the First District.
Thursday, July 8, 2021: We’re headed to the southern part of our district this morning and our first stop is in Brunswick in Glynn County where we tour the new Veterans Administration facility that is under construction and get an update on its progress.
Buddy tours new veterans facility in Brunswick
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This new facility will be a great addition to the community and should serve the needs of our veterans for many years to come. Afterwards, we continue heading south as we arrive in Camden County and stop in on the Camden County Republican Women’s monthly meeting before heading to a meeting with my good friend, Bill Gross. Next, I head to the St Marys City Hall where I am joined by Georgia State Senator Sheila McNeill and Georgia State Representative Steven Sainz as Mayor John Morrissey and City Manager Robby Horton give us a briefing of the storm damage done in the area when a tornado spurned by Tropical Storm Elsa touched down late yesterday afternoon. After the briefing, we take a tour of the damaged area as the debris is still being cleared. Although the tornado did a lot of damage, we are thankful that no one was seriously hurt. Afterwards, we all head to Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base where leadership brings us up to date on the impact of the tornado and then leads us on a tour of the recreational vehicle (RV) park that was hit.
Buddy visits storm damage at NSB Kings Bay
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The devastation was significant and, although there were some injuries, no one was seriously hurt. One of the RV’s was picked up and thrown into the lake. Miraculously, during the time the tornado struck, the couple who owned the RV were out to dinner with their grandson who was celebrating his birthday. Next, we tour some of the buildings on base that received significant damage due to the storm and afterwards head back up to Glynn County where I have the privilege of meeting new Glynn County Police Chief Jacques Battiste, who is only on his third day of work.
Buddy visits with Chief Battiste
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Before leaving the headquarters, I step into the OpCon room of the Glynn County Emergency Management Agency where I film this week’s edition of Buddy’s Briefing.
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