For instance, the same week DiNapoli wrote Spotify in his position as trustee for the New York States Common Retirement Fund, he also “filed shareholder proposals with portfolio companies Activision Blizzard Inc., Tesla Inc. and Starbucks Corp.
requesting they report on their efforts to prevent harassment and discrimination against employees and steps taken to improve workforce management.”
DiNapoli similarly announced on February 9, 2022, that the retirement fund he oversaw would “restrict investments in 21 shale oil and gas producing companies, including Pioneer Natural Resources Co., Hess Corp. and Chesapeake Energy Corp.” Such restrictions, DiNapoli explained, support his “comprehensive Climate Action Plan” that seeks “to transition the Fund’s investment portfolio to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.” Pioneer, Hess, and Chesapeake “failed to demonstrate they are prepared for the transition to a low-carbon economy,” according to the New York comptroller, justifying his ban on investing in those and other companies.
So the revelation that DiNapoli is using his clout as the trustee for the largest American public pension plan to pressure Spotify to censor Rogan and other speech with which he disagrees should come as no shock. Nor should the right view the threat as one caused by the symbiotic relationship between the government and Big Tech. Yes, that is a problem in many cases, but here DiNapoli’s epistle points out a different problem.
DiNapoli’s letter exposes the risk to free speech and the free market caused by a government that employs a large swath of her citizens and then provides them generous post-employment pension benefits funded by corporate investments chosen by elected and appointed officials based on politics and policy instead of profit. In short, the First Amendment has no say here, and DiNapoli’s push for Spotify to censor Rogan or anyone else has no remedy, outside of the ballot box.
