The GOP-led House Judiciary Committee wants Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to hand over the moderation policy for his new “Twitter killer” app as it probes the Biden administration’s alleged pressure on Big Tech to censor political dissent.
In a letter sent Monday, House Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) informed the Meta boss that Threads won’t be immune to an investigation launched earlier this year against other tech firms including Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
“Threads raises serious, specific concerns because it has been marketed as a rival of Elon Musk’s Twitter, which has faced political persecution from the Biden Administration following Musk’s commitment to free speech,” Jordan wrote.
He pointed to a recent move by the Federal Trade Commission for Twitter to divulge internal communications as part of a probe into whether Musk’s social media platform could still adequately protect consumer information.
Earlier this month, a federal judge blocked Biden administration officials from contacting social media companies in a landmark order targeting government censorship and suppression of online postings.
US District Court Judge Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee, determined that the White House likely colluded with Big Tech to censor protected speech during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since the Committee’s [Feb. 15] subpoena to Meta, we have obtained additional evidence that the federal government has coerced or colluded with technology, social media, and other companies to moderate content online,” Jordan wrote.
“These examples reinforce the Committee’s serious concerns about whether the Executive Branch is engaging in censorship by proxy — using surrogates to censor, suppress, or discourage speech in a manner that the government is unable to do itself.” --->READ MORE HERE
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is strongly considering holding Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in contempt of Congress this month, a move that could happen as early as next week.
Sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell FOX Business that Meta – formerly known as Facebook – has not provided any internal communications regarding the company’s censorship efforts.
Jordan, who ascended to the top position on the powerful House Judiciary Committee earlier this year, has aggressively targeted the Big Tech giant for internal documents since serving in the minority on the committee last Congress.
After Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in January, the Judiciary Committee – led by Jordan – officially issued Meta a subpoena for censorship documentation in February of this year.
In May, Jordan followed up with Meta to warn that the company’s response was insufficient, failing to comply with the subpoena request for internal communications among Meta employees.
In the letter, Jordan wrote, "Meta’s rolling productions to date have not included material the Committee knows is, or has reason to believe may be, in the company’s possession and that is responsive to the subpoena […] If Meta fails to comply in full with the subpoena’s demands, the Committee may be forced to consider the use of one or more enforcement mechanisms."
Specifically, Jordan has requested Meta turn over any documents that include "internal meeting notes or discussions of government statements, requests, referrals, or recommendations related to content moderation, including certain documents commemorating findings and/or recommendations regarding whether to apply enforcement actions to purported disinformation." --->READ MORE HERE
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