Google pressured an independent Washington think tank to fire staff involved with a press release praising the European Union’s $2.7 billion antitrust fine against the tech giant, according to the New York Times.
The New America Foundation posted the release in June, only to have it taken down and reappear hours later. The 10-member Open Markets team (part of New America), including director Barry Lynn, were soon “exiled” from the think tank.
And now non-profit advocacy group Content Creators Coalition is calling for a Congressional investigation into Google’s “Distorting Public Policy Debates.” “Google’s efforts to monopolize civil society in support of the company’s balance-sheet-driven agenda is as dangerous as it is wrong,” the group said in a statement on Wednesday.