Almost all of the senators supposed to be holding Big Tech accountable are bankrolled by Google

11 of the 12 senators in the subcommittee that questioned one of YouTube’s executives on Tuesday have received donations from a PAC of its parent company Alphabet, according to data by the Federal Election Commission. 

The Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security held a hearing on Tuesday where it questioned executives from YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok about the negative impact of their platforms on minors. 

Alphabet, which owns YouTube, has a PAC that has donated $344,500 to 11 of the 12 senators in the subcommittee over the past 15 years. Only the subcommittee’s chairman Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has not received money from Alphabet’s PAC.

The Democrat Senators Amy Klobuchar, for her Presidential Campaign, and Ed Markey, from Minnesota and Massachusetts respectively, who are members of the subcommittee, have previously on record saying they would refuse donations from corporate PACs. 

The totals each senator on the subcommittee has received from Google in the last 15 years:

• Sen. John Thune (R-S.D) – $59,000
• Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M) – $56,000
• Jerry Moran (R-Kan) – $50,000
• Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) – $43,500
• Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) – $38,000
• Ed Markey (D-Mass) – $31,500
• Mike Lee (R-Utah) – $16,000
• Roy Blunt (R-Mo), $15,000
• Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc) -$14,000
• Todd Young (R-Ind) – $12,000
• Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) – $9,500