Ted Cruz: “Big Tech crafts seemingly benign contract terms that exist solely to justify discrimination on the basis of politics.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is intensifying efforts to investigate online service providers accused of systematically censoring conservatives. After laying out his concerns last year, Cruz is now leveraging his position in the Senate Commerce Committee to demand answers.
On Monday, the committee informed Bonterra, a major online service provider used by nonprofits for fundraising and operations, that it intends to issue a subpoena. The move follows Bonterra’s decision to terminate service for the Independent Women’s Forum, allegedly over claims that the group violated the company’s terms of service.
Cruz emphasized that last year’s investigation into Bonterra’s actions was just the beginning. “I believe it is important that the Committee subpoena additional information to learn whether Bonterra blacklisted other conservative groups and to understand exactly how Big Tech crafts seemingly benign contract terms that exist solely to justify discrimination on the basis of politics,” Cruz said.
The subpoena will seek documents and communications between Bonterra and any third parties involved in shaping its “business ethics” provisions or anti-hate speech policies. The committee also aims to uncover communications with external groups that flagged users for alleged violations, as well as records of accounts Bonterra removed for hate speech.
Bonterra did not provide the Independent Women’s Forum with a specific reason for terminating its service. However, during last year’s investigation, the company told Cruz’s committee that the decision was based on claims that the group “works to restrict the rights of the LGBTQ community.” At the same time, Bonterra asserted that it does not consider an organization’s political positions when enforcing its terms of service.
The Independent Women’s Forum is a conservative nonprofit focused on policy issues affecting women and their families. It has been a leading advocate against the inclusion of transgender-identifying men in women’s sports.
“Big Tech companies like Bonterra weaponized their terms of service to systematically deplatform conservatives,” Cruz said. “Bonterra decided that it no longer wanted to allow the Independent Women’s Forum to use its product, so, citing a preposterous ‘business ethics’ policy that would allow for terminating a contract, Bonterra falsely accused IWF of advocating for hate and discrimination.”
Cruz’s previous investigation highlighted that while Bonterra cut ties with the Independent Women’s Forum, it continued to provide services to organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Institute for Palestine Studies, the latter of which publicly supported the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
Bonterra is the first company to be subpoenaed since Republicans gained the Senate majority, but it likely won’t be the last. Cruz’s past investigations have also scrutinized companies like Eventbrite, which removed events featuring The Daily Wire’s film What Is A Woman? for allegedly violating its “hateful events policy.”
Before becoming chairman of the Commerce Committee, Cruz lacked full investigative authority. Now, with those tools at his disposal, he is committed to addressing what he calls the misuse of terms of service to suppress conservative organizations.
“Unless we put a stop to Big Tech’s growing weaponization of standard terms of service, more conservatives may find themselves unable to carry out essential administrative work, harming the entire movement and depriving President Trump and his administration of critical allies and supporters,” Cruz warned.
Bonterra, which was notified of the subpoena on Monday, has not responded to a request for comment.
