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Discussions of abortion are posing big problems for some Big Tech companies, not just on their platforms but inside their walls.

Driving the news: With the Supreme Court readying to let states ban abortion, Meta last week reminded employees of a 2019 policy that bars discussion of the topic on the internal discussion system that runs the company, Workplace, per reporting from the Verge and the Washington Post.

Why it matters: As the likely reversal of Roe v. Wade looms, social media platforms' internal and external policies will once again shape the currents of a red-hot public debate.

Yes, but: Companies that rushed to embrace Black Lives Matter in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder are trying their best to keep this issue at arm's length, for the moment.

Another test will arrive for them once the court rules.

Details: Meta/Facebook's "Respectful Communication Policy," per a copy seen by Axios, bars the following from official workplace channels:

"opinions or debates about abortion being right or wrong, availability or rights of abortion, and political, religious, and humanitarian views on the topic (puts down various groups; highly divisive)."

"sharing a personal experience about abortion in order to persuade or dissuade others to or from taking a certain position on the topic."

The policy allows "sharing a personal experience about abortion with a trusted colleague, in a private setting (e.g., private 1:1 meeting or chat), for support" and "Showing empathy or support towards a colleague in response to their voluntarily shared personal abortion experience, in a private setting."

It's not clear whether the policy extends to discussing abortion as part of product-related decision making, including responding to law enforcement information requests and making content moderation choices. Facebook declined to answer that question.

Meta also allows employees to post about abortion on their personal Facebook accounts.

COO Sheryl Sandberg posted on May 3, "This is a scary day for women all across our country. If the leaked draft opinion becomes the law of the land, one of our most fundamental rights will be taken away."

The big picture: Major tech companies, including Meta, have often been outspoken about some human rights issues, including the Black Lives Matter movement and policies that affect the LGBTQ+ community. 

Meta employees are allowed to discuss these issues on Workplace, along with immigration, vaccinations, school choice and gun control, per the policy.

Meta's policy does not seem to be common among the other biggest U.S. tech companies.

A Google spokesperson told Axios the company asks employees to speak to each other with respect, but has advised nothing specific about abortion.

Apple has not barred employees from talking about abortion on workplace channels, a source familiar with the company told Axios.

Microsoft did not provide comment. Amazon did not reply to a request for comment.

Be smart: Abortion was never one of the issues the tech industry thought of as its own. But every tech giant now faces a slew of decisions on health coverage for employees, content moderation for users, and workplace conduct around a controversial topic.

All these firms are under intense scrutiny by regulators and legislators and compete fiercely for talented employees in a tight labor market. 

Between the lines: Per the Verge, Meta’s VP of HR, Janelle Gale, told a Meta all-hands meeting on Thursday: “Even if people are respectful, and they’re attempting to be respectful about their view on abortion, it can still leave people feeling like they’re being targeted based on their gender or religion... It’s the one unique topic that kind of trips that line on a protected class pretty much in every instance.”

Private employers generally have the right to regulate employee speech as they see fit, legal experts told Axios.

But discussing abortion as it relates to employee benefits, like potential payments for out-of-state-travel for abortion care, could tip into the protected speech arena per the National Labor Relations Act, which protects speech around benefits and unionization, Cynthia Estlund, a labor and employment professor at NYU, told Axios.

Meta's policy "strikes me as strange considering what the last two years have looked like from a social justice standpoint," Tawny Alvarez, an employment lawyer at New England-based firm Verrill, told Axios. "It would be, in my mind, similar to saying you can't talk about vaccines on Workplace because we understand that some people don't believe the vaccine is effective."

Our thought bubble: On this topic, Meta, often accused of anti-conservative bias by the right and under-moderation by the left, may simply be mirroring the rest of the corporate world's reluctance to engage with abortion at all. 

Fast Company recently asked large U.S. firms where they stand on abortion access and what they plan to do if Roe falls. It got responses from only 15 of 200 companies.

New spotlight on Meta's ban of workers' abortion posts

The company's rules block abortion discussion on its internal message boards, but there are no similar rules for other contentious issues.

Illustration of a speech balloon with a lock inside it, which unlocks.

Abortion

Discussions of abortion are posing big problems for some Big Tech companies, not just on their platforms but inside their walls.Driving the news: With the Supreme Court readying <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="to let states ban abortion" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/03/abortion-supreme-court-roe-v-wade-live-updates" data-vars-content-id="1a4c5937-1d47-49b5-ba45-3204d136dcca" data-vars-headline="New spotlight on Meta&#x27;s ban of workers&#x27; abortion posts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/03/abortion-supreme-court-roe-v-wade-live-updates" target="_self">to let states ban abortion</a>, Meta last week reminded employees of a 2019 policy that bars discussion of the topic on the internal discussion system that runs the company, Workplace, per reporting from <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the Verge" data-vars-click-url="https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/19/23131714/meta-ban-abortion-discussion-at-work-facebook-workplace-roe-v-wade" data-vars-content-id="1a4c5937-1d47-49b5-ba45-3204d136dcca" data-vars-headline="New spotlight on Meta&#x27;s ban of workers&#x27; abortion posts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/19/23131714/meta-ban-abortion-discussion-at-work-facebook-workplace-roe-v-wade" target="_blank">the Verge</a> and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the Washington Post" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/lizzadwoskin/status/1527688945944842240" data-vars-content-id="1a4c5937-1d47-49b5-ba45-3204d136dcca" data-vars-headline="New spotlight on Meta&#x27;s ban of workers&#x27; abortion posts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/lizzadwoskin/status/1527688945944842240" target="_blank">the Washington Post</a>.

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) intends to put bipartisan tech antitrust legislation up for a vote by early summer, a Democratic source familiar with the situation tells Axios.

Why it matters: Schumer is in charge of the Senate's agenda, and if the bill doesn't pass soon, its prospects in the next Congress look shaky.

The legislation would then have to pass the House, where there is a companion bill.

Driving the news: Per a source familiar with the meeting, Schumer met with  Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) Wednesday to discuss next steps for Klobuchar's bipartisan bill, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, which passed out of the Senate Judiciary committee earlier this year.

The bill would ban Big Tech companies like Google, Apple, Amazon and Meta from favoring their own services in an anticompetitive way, similar to a House bill approved by the House Judiciary Committee as part of a marathon markup last summer.

Schumer urged Klobuchar to release an edited version of her bill with input from bipartisan members of the Judiciary Committee soon, so members have time to review it before it's put up for a floor vote, per the source.

Schumer told Durbin and Klobuchar he fully supports the antitrust bill, and committed to putting a revised bill on the Senate floor, according to the source. 

Flashback: Though the bill passed out of committee, a number of members said it needed changes before they'd commit to voting for it in the full Senate.

Democratic leadership is working on ensuring 60 votes. Klobuchar recently presented to the Democratic caucus seeking support for her antitrust proposals.

The other side: Opponents of the bill say it would undermine national security, embolden China, break encryption services and endanger tech services consumers enjoy.

Scoop: Schumer seeks tech antitrust bill vote by early summer

The window for legislation to limit monopolistic practices by Big Tech is closing.

Illustration of a gavel in the shape of a cursor

Big Tech

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) intends to put bipartisan tech antitrust legislation up for a vote by early summer, a Democratic source familiar with the situation tells Axios.Why it matters: Schumer is in charge of the Senate&#x27;s agenda, and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="if the bill doesn&#x27;t pass soon, its prospects in the next Congress look shaky" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/05/tech-antitrust-clock-ticking-senate-congress" data-vars-content-id="2fe5e18e-1adf-4217-82f9-cd8112d653c0" data-vars-headline="Scoop: Schumer seeks tech antitrust bill vote by early summer" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/05/tech-antitrust-clock-ticking-senate-congress" target="_self">if the bill doesn&#x27;t pass soon, its prospects in the next Congress look shaky</a>.<ul><li>The legislation would then have to pass the House, where there is a companion bill.</li></ul>

The Senate has voted to confirm Alvaro Bedoya to the Federal Trade Commission, giving Democratic chair Lina Khan a majority at the agency after a long wait. 

Why it matters: Khan can now move forward with the aggressive pro-competition agenda she's planned, with three Democratic members sitting on the five-member commission.

Driving the news: The Senate voted Wednesday afternoon to confirm Bedoya 51-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. 

Between the lines: It's not very common for an FTC nominee vote to be so split between parties. 

Republicans have said Bedoya, a privacy expert, professor and former Senate Judiciary Committee staffer, is unsuitable for the job. 

What they're saying:  “Alvaro Bedoya’s confirmation as a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission is good news for the American people and brings the agency back to full strength to enforce antitrust protections, fight against price gougers, market manipulators, and those trying to rip off American consumers,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. 

The other side: “Today’s vote sends a clear message to businesses of all sizes: buckle up," said Neil Bradley, executive vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, which fought against both Khan's and Bedoya's confirmations, in a statement. 

"Chair Khan now has the potential third vote she needs to unleash greater uncertainty — the enemy of business growth and opportunity — on the economy.”

Senate confirms Bedoya for FTC seat, giving Democrats majority

His arrival at the commission will give chair Lina Khan a chance to enact tougher policies.

Photo Illustration: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

The Senate has voted to confirm Alvaro Bedoya to the Federal Trade Commission, giving Democratic chair Lina Khan a majority at the agency after a long wait. Why it matters: Khan can now move forward with the aggressive pro-competition agenda she&#x27;s planned, with three Democratic members sitting on the five-member commission.

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan has a chance to work her way down her Big Tech to-do list, nearly a year into her tenure, now that she has a Democratic majority in hand.

Driving the news: The Senate voted 51-50 Wednesday afternoon — with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking a tie — to confirm privacy expert Alvaro Bedoya to the FTC.

The big picture: Progressives last year cheered President Biden's appointment of Khan, a prominent critic of Amazon's market power, to lead the agency — but her ability to enact sweeping changes or enforcement actions has been limited so far.

The Democrats' majority at the five-person agency now opens the door for Khan's agenda, expected to include:

1. New privacy and competition rules. Biden called on the FTC to craft rules on data and surveillance, as well as rules barring unfair methods of competition on internet marketplaces, as part of a wide-ranging executive order on competition last summer.

Khan will now have the votes to propose new rules around unfair competition practices, children's privacy, consumer privacy, and the use of non-compete contracts, along with the use of data and surveillance.

2. Aggressive enforcement on deals. The same executive order said the FTC has the power to to challenge prior mergers, something the FTC itself highlighted when Amazon closed its deal with MGM after running out the clock on the agency's review.

Agency watchers tell Axios Khan may wait to file a larger case against Amazon that goes beyond its MGM purchase.

"[Khan] was put in charge of the agency with a strong bipartisan majority to address the market power problems deriving from Big Tech. Core to those problems are their ability to leverage their power into markets through acquisitions," Sarah Miller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, told Axios. 

3. More stringent guidelines on mergers. The administration called on the FTC to scrutinize mergers and acquisitions by dominant internet platforms, especially when buying smaller rivals, and Khan will be able to scrutinize and challenge mergers more successfully with Bedoya's vote.

Separately, the FTC and DOJ are also in the process of drawing up new merger guidelines, which could change the way businesses approach acquisitions.

"On the antitrust side, item number one is probably the revision of the merger guidelines, together with DOJ," Daniel Francis, the former deputy head of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, told Axios. "In practice, that's the most important document for merger control and review in the country, and everyone is waiting to see what the agencies will change. The new third vote will make all the difference."

What they're saying: Bedoya's arrival means "the urgent work of reining in the unchecked power of increasingly concentrated industries can finally move forward at the FTC," Alex Harman, ​director of government affairs for competition policy at the Economic Security Project, the anti-monopoly nonprofit founded by former Meta co-founder Chris Hughes, told Axios.

The other side: Critics of Khan's FTC, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said her new Democratic majority marks the end of bipartisanship at the agency. 

"As soon as she has a third vote I expect an unprecedented flood of aggressive, partisan actions that continue to erode the commission's long history of bipartisanship," said Neil Chilson, a senior research fellow for Tech and Innovation at Stand Together and a former FTC adviser.

Between the lines: Democratic commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, the former acting chairwoman, and Bedoya will have considerable leverage over the agency's work as Khan will need their support to push through her agenda in the face of Republican opposition.

Yes, but: Khan will also need the support of FTC staff, who carry out the work of writing rules and guidelines. A recent survey showed low trust in senior leaders among FTC employees, and Politico reported tensions between FTC leadership and longtime staffers.

"The FTC has been a gem of an agency, a community of professionals dedicated to protecting consumer," Republican FTC commissioner Christine Wilson tweeted about the survey. "New leadership has marginalized and disrespected staff, resulting in a brain drain that will take a generation to fix."

Lina Khan's to-do list on Big Tech

With a key spot on the FTC now filled, the commissioner has a chance to pursue a bigger agenda.

Photo illustration of Lina Khan with the Capitol Building, a gavel, and binary code

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: An Rong Xu/Washington Post via Getty Images

Economy & Business

Tech platforms are facing a new reality: Unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, Texans could immediately start suing giants like Meta and YouTube over content moderation decisions they don't agree with.

Driving the news: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed an earlier ruling that had stopped Texas from enforcing its social media law, HB 20, last week. Industry groups asked the Supreme Court Friday for an emergency stay.

The law's supporters see it as a way to get Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social media companies to stop what many on the right have long viewed as "censorship" of conservative viewpoints.

Opponents point out that the law is likely to let virtually anyone challenge any content-related decision by the platforms, even though most content moderation involves blocking spam and porn and barring harassment and bullying.

Details: HB 20, which applies to platforms with 50 million or more U.S. monthly users, bars "censorship" based on "viewpoint." 

It defines "censorship" as acts that "block, ban, remove, deplatform, demonetize, de-boost, restrict, deny equal access or visibility to, or otherwise discriminate against expression."

It empowers individuals to bring legal action against companies that violate the law.

How we got here: Texas passed HB 20 last September, but a federal district court judge blocked it from going into effect in December. 

Last week's appeals court ruling reversed the lower court and will allow the law to take effect unless the Supreme Court steps in.

What they're saying: "HB 20 strips private online businesses of their speech rights, forbids them from making constitutionally protected editorial decisions, and forces them to publish and promote objectionable content,” Chris Marchese, counsel for NetChoice, one of the groups appealing the ruling, said in a statement. 

“The First Amendment prohibits Texas from forcing online platforms to host and promote foreign propaganda, pornography, pro-Nazi speech, and spam.”

The law's opponents also see it as violating Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from liability for moderating user-contributed content.

Between the lines: In theory, a social media platform could just stop taking posts from Texans as it hopes for HB 20 to lose in court.

But the law defines removing content based on "a user's geographic location in this state or any part of this state" as censorship, too, so such a move wouldn't end the flood of lawsuits.

The big picture: A number of state legislatures have attempted to pass laws that prevent social media platforms from taking down posts they find objectionable, in an attempt to fight alleged bias against conservatives. 

Members of Congress have introduced similar bills.

In Florida, a similar law passed last May was almost immediately put on hold by a federal judge. The state's appeal of that decision is awaiting a ruling from the Eleventh Circuit.

The bottom line: The Fifth Circuit decision shows that these "anti-censorship" laws can find at least some judges who won't reject them out of hand. 

Content moderation experts tell Axios this will give other states an incentive to see if they can find other sympathetic judges.

Dallas

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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Dallas. Written by Michael Mooney and Tasha Tsiperas.

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Court opens way for flood of Texas "censorship" lawsuits

Texans are expected to start suing giants like Meta and YouTube over content moderation decisions they don't agree with.

Illustration of a row of gavels, with all but one of them transparent.

Texas

Tech platforms are facing a new reality: Unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, Texans could immediately start suing giants like Meta and YouTube over content moderation decisions they don&#x27;t agree with.Driving the news: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed an earlier ruling that had stopped Texas from enforcing its social media law, HB 20, last week. <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Industry groups asked the Supreme Court" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/14/supreme-court-texas-social-media-law" data-vars-content-id="def4ab3b-d2bd-4fc2-805d-e50f3581704e" data-vars-headline="Court opens way for flood of Texas &quot;censorship&quot; lawsuits" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/14/supreme-court-texas-social-media-law" target="_self">Industry groups asked the Supreme Court</a> Friday for an emergency stay.

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Stories

New spotlight on Meta's ban of workers' abortion posts

Scoop: Schumer seeks tech antitrust bill vote by early summer

Court opens way for flood of Texas "censorship" lawsuits

Lina Khan's to-do list on Big Tech

Senate confirms Bedoya for FTC seat, giving Democrats majority