Some business groups and conservatives say the order could result in government overreach.
“My warning is every time you hand more power to the government, the likelihood of consumers winning at the end decreases,” said conservative Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel at NetChoice, an advocacy group representing tech companies.
Szabo gave the example of President Theodore Roosevelt breaking up and regulating the Big Oil companies, such as Standard Oil, in the early 1900s, which he said ultimately resulted in higher prices for consumers.
He said Biden is trying to do the same thing with Big Tech companies using his executive order, arguing it would backfire.
“Everything has costs and benefits. Would you accept cheaper but less reliable internet that this order could result in? These trade-offs are not explained or discussed in the order,” Szabo said.