Rep. Jim Jordan is going after Big Tech CEOs with the aim of squeezing information out of them about their censorship operations and then using that info to craft legislation that makes such censorship illegal, or at least limited by statute.
The firs step in that is subpoenaing the CEOs and demanding the relevant information from them. Breitbart News, reporting on those subpoenas and what it is that Rep. Jordan is going after with them, reported that:
Jordan’s subpoenas, reviewed by Breitbart News, seek information that could pertain to his committee’s “weaponization of the federal government” panel’s probes into alleged First Amendment violations by U.S. government agencies.
The subpoenas were issued to:
- Sundar Pichai of Alphabet
- Andy Jassy of Amazon
- Mark Zuckerberg of Meta
- Satya Nadella of Microsoft
- Tim Cook of Apple
They demand the CEOs to produce by March 23 any and all documents and communications between their respective companies and the executive branch of the U.S. government that relate to the companies’ “moderation, deletion, suppression, restricting, or reduced circulation of content.”
And Rep. Jordan is including threats in the subpoenas too. Writing in the cover letter for one of the subpoenas, he threatened the companies with legislation, saying “To develop effective legislation, such as the possible enactment of new statutory limits on the Executive Branch’s ability to work with Big Tech to restrict the circulation of content and deplatform users, the Committee on the Judiciary must first understand how and to what extent the Executive Branch coerced and colluded with companies and other intermediaries to censor speech.”
Jordan added that “Numerous internal documents from Twitter reflect the weaponization of the federal government’s power to censor speech online,” saying that it is “necessary for Congress to gauge the extent to which this occurred.” He did, however, exclude Elon Musk from having to attend the hearings.
Along a similar line, Rep. Jordan’s office also said that the goal was both holding the Big Tech companies accountable and crafting laws that protect free speech, saying:
“The House Judiciary Committee has repeatedly attempted to engage with the five companies since last December. Unfortunately, the companies have not adequately complied with our requests.”
“Congress has an important role in protecting and advancing fundamental free speech principles, including by examining how private actors coordinate with the government to suppress First Amendment-protected speech. These subpoenas are the first step in holding Big Tech accountable.”
According to Fox News Digital, some of the companies are already starting to work with Rep. Jordan and comply with his demands. As it reports:
A Microsoft spokesperson told Fox News Digital that they “have started producing documents, are engaged with the Committee, and committed to working in good faith.”
A Meta spokesperson told Fox News Digital that they also have “already begun producing documents in response to the committee’s requests and will continue to do so moving forward.”
Spokespeople for Apple and Amazon did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
By: Will Tanner. Follow me on Twitter @Will_Tanner_1
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