Heavyweights Join Facebook-backed, Pro-Tech Group, the American Edge Project

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) are joining the American Edge Project and will work to promote “internet openness, accessibility and free expression” as lawmakers inch towards regulating the major tech companies. In addition to Facebook, the group’s members include tech trade group NetChoice and the Connected Commerce Council. Walden said he’s joining the group to promote ideals like free expression, as “techno-autocracies” advance their vision for censoring the internet. American Edge Project has been shrouded in controversy since Facebook confirmed in 2020 its role in launching the “dark money” group, which is meant to burnish the image of US tech companies as they face intensifying regulatory scrutiny. The group is registered as a nonprofit with an accompanying foundation, allowing American Edge to avoid disclosing all of its donors. Walden and Heitkamp, both of whom only recently left Capitol Hill, will add extra heft to American Edge as it continues to advocate against antitrust reform. Their positions as advisory board co-chairs will be similar to other American Edge Project advisers, including former Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA).