Elizabeth Warren says she won't accept major donations from tech executives after vowing to break up big tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon
- Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign won't accept major donations from executives in tech and finance, the senator announced Tuesday.
- Warren has campaigned on the argument that Facebook, Google, and Amazon are monopolies that should be more heavily regulated.
- She also urged other presidential candidates to disclose how much tech executives are donating to their campaigns.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren will no longer accept large donations from executives at big tech companies, the candidate announced Tuesday.
As part of a campaign push to "clean up the corruption in our elections," Warren said she won't take campaign donations of more than $200 from executives of tech companies like Google and Facebook, or from finance executives. Warren has previously vowed not to take contributions of more than $200 from fossil fuel and pharmaceutical executives.
"Money slithers through every part of our political system, corrupting democracy and taking power away from the people," Warren wrote. "Getting big money out of politics is a critical part of fighting corruption."
Warren has made breaking up big tech a major facet of her campaign. The candidate has argued that tech giants including Facebook, Google, and Amazon are monopolies that the federal government should regulate more heavily.
That proposal received backlash from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who said during an internal company meeting that a Warren presidency would "suck" for Facebook, according to an audio recording published by The Verge.
Warren has also sparred with Facebook this week over its policy of not removing false advertisements made by political candidates.
But despite these public conflicts, Warren has garnered the support of many tech industry leaders. According to a report by Vox, Warren is building traction with Silicon Valley elites. The candidate's new stance rejecting big tech contributions appears to represent a public effort to distance herself from that influence.
In her statement Tuesday, Warren also took aim at political candidates who would court big tech donations, implying that those donations could be traded for campaign positions or political favors.
"If Democratic candidates for president want to spend their time hobnobbing with the rich and powerful, it is currently legal for them to do so - but they shouldn't be handing out secret titles and honors to rich donors," Warren wrote.
