Chairman Simons to Sen Hawley: No-Go on 2012 Google Antitrust Report

"Unfortunately, we are not able to honor your request," Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joe Simons tells Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) about the senator's ask that the agency release its 2012 staff report on Google. A chunk of that report was accidentally released back in 2015, revealing that FTC staffers judged that Google had caused "real harm" in the search and online ads markets as part of an investigation that ended with no charges brought against the company. Sen Hawley, a vocal tech critic, had asked all five FTC commissioners in a September letter to publish the rest, arguing that the law gives them the power to do so given the public's "strong interest" in knowing what the bipartisan commission discovered about Google's competitive practices. Chairman Simons was not swayed. "I understand your desire for transparency," Simons told his fellow Republican, but he argued that staff reports are exempt from FOIA as they are "deliberative, pre-decisional, and an integral part of the FTC's decision-making process."