A protester dressed as Rich Uncle Pennybags (‘Monopoly Man’) has returned to Congress to once again troll at a hearing over Google’s a...
A protester dressed as Rich Uncle Pennybags (‘Monopoly Man’) has returned to Congress to once again troll at a hearing over Google’s ability to “wield monopoly power over every person who uses the internet.”
During the House Judiciary Committee hearing with Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Pennybags was seen making faces and playing with several mustaches and a monocle behind Pichai as he testified.
“I’m baaaack,” Ian Madrigal, who dressed up as Pennybags, wrote on Twitter. “Monopoly Man Returns to Congress to troll the CEO of the biggest Monopoly in the world: Google.”
In a statement, Madrigal said the point of the protest was to draw attention to Google’s lobbying practices and use of personal data.
"Google spent $18 million lobbying politicians in 2017 — more than any other company," Madrigal said. "In return, Congress has abandoned its oversight role and allowed Google to wield monopoly power over every person who uses the internet."
“We have no say in how Google uses even our most personal data, and the only way to opt out is to boycott the internet itself," Madrigal added. "We can't rely on tech giants to self-regulate. It is past time for Congress to step in and do its job.”
Madrigal also had a ‘Get-Out-Of-Jail Free Card’ which said “Google buys influence to abuse its monopoly power and escape accountability.”
“Forced arbitration is a get-out-of-jail-free card for abuse and discrimination,” Madrigal said in a tweet with a picture of the card.
“Google must not be tracking all our movements, because they certainly didn’t see me coming,” Madrigal said in another tweet.
According to CNBC, Madrigal is a strategy director for Revolution Messaging, a firm run by Keegan Goudiss, who was Bernie Sanders’ director of digital advertising during the 2016 election.
In June, Madrigal was one of the protesters who confronted the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, at a Mexican restaurant in Washington D.C. shouting “shame,” causing the secretary to be ushered out.
According to Madrigal’s bio on Revolution Messaging, the protest “ignited a national debate over the role of (in)civility in Resistance.”
Twitter seemed to enjoy the spectacle:
Some pointed out that Pennybags’ mustache grew bigger during the hearing:
Last year, Madrigal (who was named Amanda Weaver at the time) first appeared as Pennybags behind then-Equifax CEO Richard Smith as he testified at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs about the massive Equifax data breach. Madrigal was seen to the left of Smith, also making faces and messing with a mustache and monocle.
Again the problem is corruption. Lobbying is nothing more than legalized bribery. Jail time for all involved.
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