When I joined Accountable Tech’s team as Digital Manager in the spring, one of my first responsibilities was to help with our new influencer outreach program. I had a good idea of what that meant – diving into the world of TikTok. 

TikTok is one of the world’s fastest-growing social media apps. TikTok reached one billion users in the third quarter of 2021 and is expected to reach 1.8 billion users by the end of 2022. 

I jokingly told staff about trends and let them know what sides of TikTok I was on: #booktok, #sportstok, #foodtok, etc. That led us to wonder: is there an #antitrusttok? The short answer was yes. Surprisingly, there were a few TikTok accounts from Big Tech lobbyists criticizing historic bipartisan antitrust legislation advancing in Congress. That’s when the lightbulb moment went off for our team. If we wanted to rein in Big Tech monopolies, we’d have to educate and mobilize users by meeting them where they’re at—with social media influencers on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Indeed, these platforms have their fair share of problems. Leaked audio from 80 internal TikTok meetings shows that U.S. user data has been repeatedly accessed from China despite previous congressional testimony saying otherwise. Meta’s own internal research found that Instagram is bad for teens’ mental health. We understand the irony in us using the same platforms we’re fighting to hold accountable, but Big Tech’s monopoly power in itself has made it hard to reach people online without using these platforms. We have to reach people where they are to level the playing field.

We specifically wanted to educate users on the history of antitrust in the U.S., underscore Big Tech’s abuses of monopoly power, and mobilize support for two bipartisan bills in Congress to rein in Big Tech’s monopoly power: The American Innovation and Choice Online Act and the Open App Markets Act. 

Accountable Tech was thrilled to have partnered with Social Currant to elevate young, diverse TikTok creators interested in supporting historic bipartisan legislation to rein in Big Tech. Here are some of the creators we collaborated with and how they talked about antitrust legislation:

Dana Fortune looks back on the history of antitrust legislation and enforcement in the U.S. and how they have helped protect consumers, workers, and small businesses:

Jake Truemper, with his passion for American history, highlights key moments of antitrust enforcement in the U.S. and underscored why these laws must be updated for today’s Big Tech monopolies:

Dr. Horrible Jr. explains how Amazon rigs its marketplace and hurts small businesses:

IndesKribeaBULL illustrates how Big Tech monopolies like Amazon create copy-cat products and then promote them in their search results to undermine competitors:

Benjamin, as a news anchor, provides a breakdown of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act and Open App Markets Act:

Tega Reacts breaks down what antitrust means, why it’s important, and how you can join the fight to rein in Big Tech monopolies:

Cybersecuritygirl explains Apple’s abuse of monopoly power through their stranglehold on the iPhone App Store:

Each of these different digital content creators presented their own perspective on how this historic bipartisan antitrust legislation can make a positive difference in the lives of millions of Americans. But our window to get these historic bipartisan antitrust bills passed is closing. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently announced he will hold a vote on these tech antitrust bills after August Recess. It’s important our senators hear from us and know there’s overwhelming support for historic bipartisan antitrust legislation.