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Florida governor Ron DeSantis has frequently railed against 鈥淏ig Tech.鈥� He has accused Google, Facebook and Twitter of silencing conservative voices.
But in private, DeSantis has gone even further.
In previously unreported comments made in 2021, DeSantis said technology companies like Google 鈥渟hould be broken up鈥� by the U.S. government.
DeSantis, widely considered a presidential hopeful, made the remarks at an invite-only retreat for the Teneo Network, a . ProPublica and Documented obtained video of the event.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e just too big, they have too much power,鈥� DeSantis said. 鈥淚 think they鈥檙e exercising a more negative influence on our society than the trusts that got broken up at the early 20th century.鈥� He added that large tech companies 鈥渁re ruining our country. They鈥檙e a very negative influence. And so I think you need to be strong about it.鈥�
DeSantis鈥� call to break up large tech companies occurred at the Teneo Network鈥檚 annual retreat in 2021. As ProPublica and Documented recently reported, the Teneo Network aims to 鈥渃rush liberal dominance鈥� across many areas of American society, according to its chairman Leonard Leo, the influential legal activist and longtime leader of the Federalist Society.
DeSantis鈥� office did not respond to requests seeking comment. Teneo declined to comment.
In recent years, 鈥淏ig Tech鈥� has emerged as a favored target for Republican lawmakers and activists, even as prominent conservatives have amassed huge followings on Twitter, Facebook and other platforms. Pointing to such high-profile examples as Donald Trump鈥檚 suspension from Facebook and Twitter鈥檚 decision to briefly block a story about Hunter Biden鈥檚 laptop, Republicans claim that U.S. tech companies have systematically suppressed conservative viewpoints and interfered with elections in ways that have helped Democrats.
A 2021 study issued by New York University researchers . 鈥淭he claim of anti-conservative animus on the part of social media companies is itself a form of disinformation: a falsehood with no reliable evidence to support it," the researchers for the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights wrote.
Liberal lawmakers and policy experts have also called for stronger antitrust enforcement of major tech companies. During the 2020 presidential race, Sen. , D-Mass., campaigned on a platform of , saying they had 鈥渢oo much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy.鈥� In 2021, Democrats in Congress , but the bills never became law.
Matt Stoller, an antitrust expert who works at the American Economic Liberties Project, said it鈥檚 hard to tell if DeSantis鈥� private comments indicate genuine concern about corporate concentration of power or just anger at large firms perceived to be hostile to conservatives.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a war on the right about antitrust,鈥� Stoller said. 鈥淚鈥檓 skeptical but open-minded that DeSantis wants to do something serious about economic power.鈥�
Stoller added that he was more intrigued by DeSantis鈥� decision to call for breaking up tech at an event so closely associated with Leonard Leo. 鈥淚f Leo buys that argument,鈥� Stoller said, 鈥渢hen it means that a lot of federal judges might tip in that direction, too.鈥�
A spokesperson for Leo declined to comment.
Teneo鈥檚 retreats are invite-only affairs limited to its members, their spouses and special guests. ProPublica and Documented obtained a video of DeSantis鈥� remarks about big tech, which took place during a longer conversation between DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who is now running for president as a Republican.
As governor, DeSantis has repeatedly singled out tech and social-media companies, saying their actions 鈥渕ay be one of the most pervasive threats to American self-government in the 21st century.鈥� Legislation he signed in May 2021 not only seeks to and win monetary damages, it also empowers the state鈥檚 attorney general to bring cases against tech companies under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. (Tech companies are challenging the law, and its fate remains unclear.)
In February of this year, DeSantis introduced a plan to create what he called a for Florida citizens. The proposal, billed as a way to protect privacy and eliminate 鈥渦nfair censorship,鈥� would ban TikTok on state government devices and block local and state employees 鈥渇rom coordinating with Big Tech companies to censor protected speech.鈥�
But unlike some of his fellow conservatives, DeSantis鈥� barbed public remarks about big tech have stopped short of urging the U.S. government to break up those tech companies. In his new book, 鈥淭he Courage to Be Free,鈥� he makes only a passing reference to 鈥渆nforcing antitrust laws鈥� against 鈥渓arge corporations that are wielding what is effectively public power.鈥�
In his remarks at the Teneo Network retreat, DeSantis described tech companies as 鈥渕onopolies鈥� that 鈥渉ave more power over our lives than the monopolies of the early 20th century ever had. And it鈥檚 not even close.鈥� He listed tech companies鈥� extensive data collection practices and their ability to shape 鈥渃ore political speech鈥� as evidence of big tech鈥檚 monopolistic powers.
He went on to say that tech platforms 鈥渆nforce their terms unevenly,鈥� adding that 鈥渋f you have a conservative viewpoint, you鈥檙e much more likely to get censored, you鈥檙e much more likely to get deplatformed.鈥�
And in response to critics who might say it鈥檚 not the role of government at any level to insert itself into the workings of a private business, DeSantis offered a sharp rebuttal. 鈥淧rotecting the rights of folks to participate in political speech, I think, is an absolutely appropriate role of government,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I think that we should do all that we can.鈥�
When pressed by Ramaswamy onstage about using government power to shrink big tech companies, DeSantis stood by his position. 鈥淭hose big companies are basically an arm of the ruling regime,鈥� he said. 鈥淵eah, that should be something that should be done.鈥� And when asked if he feared that breaking up U.S. companies would strengthen China鈥檚 position in global markets, DeSantis appeared unbothered, saying that he believed antitrust action was still the correct course.
鈥淭hese tech companies are ruining our country,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a very negative influence. You need to be strong about it. And so that would not be the biggest concern I would have. My concern would be not having massive concentrations of power that are capable of silencing dissent, enforcing an orthodoxy and obviously interfering in elections, which we saw they did in 2020.鈥�
Do you have information about Leonard Leo or the Teneo Network that we should know? Reporter Andy Kroll can be reached via email at andy.kroll@propublica.org or via Signal at 202-215-6203.
