One of the leading Democratic voices against antitrust legislation targeting Big Tech says her daughter’s job on Google’s legal team doesn’t affect her policy positions.
Democratic California Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is mother to Sheila Zoe Lofgren Collins, who works as corporate counsel for Google, The New York Post first reported. Lofgren has worked behind the scenes to encourage Democratic opposition to a series of antitrust bills advanced out of the House Judiciary Committee in June, with one House Democrat refusing to vote for the antitrust legislation due to Lofgren’s influence, the NYP reported, citing anonymous sources.
When reached for comment, Lofgren told the Daily Caller News Foundation that she was proud of her daughter’s accomplishments and that Collins’ role at Google has no influence on her political decisions.
“Every decision I make as a lawmaker is what I believe to be in the best interest of every person living in California’s 19th Congressional District, not anyone else,” Lofgren told the DCNF. “To imply otherwise may be an attempt to benefit those who disagree with me on a particular policy issue, but it is false.”
Collins also works on Google’s contracts law team, and she has no involvement in Google’s antitrust battles, Lofgren said.
Lofgren has been outspoken about her opposition to the bills, which are tailored to target the largest tech companies, including Amazon, Google, Meta and Apple, and impose a number of restrictions on Big Tech mergers, self-preferencing practices and data policies.
“I urge that any new regulatory authority or adjustments to existing antitrust laws should focus not only on the dominant firms themselves, but on the larger ecosystems that their platforms enable, and from which they derive most of their power,” Lofgren said in a statement before the bills were marked up in the House Judiciary Committee.
Lofgren represents California’s 19th district, which covers much of Silicon Valley, including San Jose and Apple’s hometown, Cupertino.
Collins did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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