Speaking exclusively with Big League Politics, former Arizona superior court judge and prosecutor Andrew Gould spoke about potential action against Big Tech giants he could stand to oversee if elected as Arizona Attorney General.
Gould invoked the antitrust authorities the Arizona Attorney General is trusted with under state law, raising the possibility of using subpoena power to obtain further insight into content moderation and data privacy practices used by companies such as Facebook and Twitter. Using the civil litigation process could potentially be a useful means to compel transparency on the part of Big Tech, requiring the censors to think twice about discriminating against conservatives.
Gould compared the modern-day internet to the “pamphlets of the American Revolution,” with an outdated 20th century regulatory structure inadequate for the protection of free speech online. Gould suggested that internet service and social media providers could stand to face regulation in a manner akin to US mail and telephone services, which are legally required to serve as what’s legally recognized as “common carriers.” Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has suggested Big Tech monopolies qualify as common carriers in SCOTUS cases involving internet freedom, raising a new avenue of regulation offering an alternative path to the repeal of Section 230.
Arizona, a traditionally free-market state, has inadaquate antitrust protections, Gould explained, requiring the government to enforce its limited consumer protection powers to the greatest extent possibly. A (congressional) repeal of Section 230 also presents an imperfect solution, the longtime judge argued, allowing giants such as Facebook to dwell in a fully-moderated internet while independent content creators are subjected to even more content censorship. A better regulatory and legal approach would involve legal scrutiny and investigative transparency into the companies that possess power over most if not all speech on the internet.
Gould is of the belief that the consumer of social media services, rather than the large companies, is the owner of his or her data, with legal avenues towards reclaiming the right to one’s data a potential legal avenue to combat internet hegemony.
Arizona’s Attorney General also stands to take the reins of prosecuting illegal aliens and human smugglers on the southern border, with other AG’s of border states developing means to prosecute aliens independently of Biden’s ‘America Last’ federal government. Gould has suggested applying trespassing, disorderly conduct, and breach of the peace charges to illegal immigrants who infiltrate state lands on the southern border, providing Arizona a means to imprison unwanted guests who flout American immigration law. Such an approach would seal off Arizona as a desired venue for cartel human and drug smugglers, who would be compelled to move their criminal enterprises to Democratic states willing to tolerate border lawlessness.
As a Yuma County prosecutor, Gould is experienced in prosecuting drug-cartel related crime, suggesting the state has considerable means to make the mass illegal immigration Biden’s policies have incurred an unprofitable endeavor to those that profit and facilitate it.
Support Big League Politics by making a donation today. You can also donate via PayPal, Venmo or donate crypto. Your support helps us take on the powerful and report the truth that the mainstream media wants to silence.
