Mark Warner: Tech Millionaire Who Became Tech’s Critic in Congress

Mark Warner: Tech Millionaire Who Became Tech’s Critic in Congress
“Mark didn’t come to this point with the social media companies lightly,” said Saxby Chambliss, a retired Republican senator from Georgia who regularly meets with Mr. Warner
and the Intelligence Committee chairman, Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, a Republican, to discuss the Russia investigation.
And even if they do, lawmakers should still make more disclosure a legal requirement, said Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat
from Minnesota, who is a co-sponsor of the disclosure bill with Mr. Warner and Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona.
The reluctance of the technology companies to take seriously the investigation into
Russian election meddling pushed Mr. Warner over the edge, Mr. Chambliss said.
The top antitrust enforcer at the Justice Department, Makan Delrahim, said in an interview last week
that his agency would watch to see whether the size of technology companies hurts competition, but that size alone was not justification for action against them.
“We take this issue very seriously and think it’s important Congress gets the full picture of what happened, including what we know about Russian activity on our platform,
and is able to share its assessment with the American public.”
But lawmakers said the companies, who have been interacting privately for months, still have a long way to go.
The Democratic senator from Virginia is emblematic of the shifting politics for big technology companies, which face congressional hearings this week.
“I’m not sure they’ve fully realized the implications of all their power.”
This week, Mr. Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, will push for new answers.