The big tech CEOs are once again in front of a congressional committee making a show of answering to “we the people” about their deeds. The subject of today’s hearing is actually “Combating Online Misinformation and Disinformation” as if they are the arbiters of what is true or not. The fact checking game consists of splitting off a portion of your own base, so they look like a different entity, and have them claim whatever you say is true. I digress though.

The hearings are really just a show for the rest of us. I can say that with some certainty because of a report that came out this month from The Public Citizen, and reported on by Breitbart News. It shows us that most of the legislators that would be involved in regulating the super techs, are in fact huge donation recipients.

Ninety-four percent of lawmakers on Capitol Hill with jurisdiction over key Big Tech issues have received money from the industry, according to the Public Citizen report released Wednesday. Altogether, Big Tech political action committees (PAC) and lobbyists contributed roughly $3.2 million to lawmakers who are specifically tasked with regulating the industry.

In total, 134 of the 142 members of these committees accepted money from Big Tech PACs and lobbyists in 2020, the report found. Democrats received $1.7 million while Republicans received $1.4 million.

What this shows is that asking for any real regulation that strips power away from these big companies is asking congress to bite the hands that feed them. At this point they might as well be employees of big tech. I am sure that congress will continue to talk a big game, but they will also continue to fail to act in any meaningful way.

We shouldn’t look to the executive branch to apply pressure either, Zuckerberg, with his almost half a billion in zuckerbucks that he poured into the presidential election, bought the presidency for Joe Biden.

So what are we, the little people, supposed to do against the monolithic power of the techislature? We have to continue to milk business away from these big companies. Avoidance of twitter and facebook, should be a priority. Use alternative search engines, and tell friends to do the same. We need to make these companies the modern day equivalent of AOL or Myspace. We need to make it uncool to be on those platforms by making fun of the people that still use those dinosaurs.

Find a way to put exclusive content on alternative sites, and advertise to your networks where they can find your stuff. One of the biggest reasons that I hear for why people won’t leave these other conglomerates, is that all of their friends are there. Well, lets start moving them.