Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) blasted a recent move by major credit card companies to isolate and track gun purchases through the use of a special code.
Hawley sent a letter Tuesday to the CEOs of Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, writing he was concerned with their “decision to separately categorize gun-related purchases from other retail transactions.”
“The big three credit card companies say they will start tracking gun purchases, making it easier to track gun owners — and to stop sales,” Hawley tweeted about his letter. “Big threat to Second Amendment rights. I want to know from the corporations why they capitulated to the anti-2A lobby.”
The letter follows an International Organization for Standardization vote Friday that approved the use of the special code after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and several other lawmakers sent letters urging credit card companies to track gun purchases, according to a report.
Hawley noted that the new code would allow Big Tech to now target gun owners.
“This new system is ripe for abuse and brings to mind similar policies of Big Tech companies and payment processors that have targeted law-abiding Americans for engaging in constitutionally protected activities. I urge you to immediately reverse course,” Hawley wrote.
The Missouri Republican also equated the move to previous examples of Big Tech abusing its power to target conservatives, including the taking away of social media platforms from those who spoke out against COVID-19 mandates or for election integrity.
