Did you know Big Tech Faces Congressional Probe Into Government Ties and Censorship Allegations

 

The Chair for House Judiciary sent subpoenas to several tech giants yesterday, including Meta, Microsoft, Apple, X, TikTok, Rumble, Alphabet, and Amazon. The companies were asked to shed more light on any discussions related to foreign governments.

The goal appears to be linked to more efforts aligned to censoring speech across America, which it feels is not correct. Therefore, the matter is under investigation to determine the extent of foreign influence on Americans’ rights to free speech across the US. They also want to know how big of a role the previous Biden administration played to aid such efforts.

CNBC shared how they got in touch with all the companies outlined, and as per one spokesperson, the firm continues to engage and work towards a commitment to good faith. Companies do seem to be supporting the idea and cooperating to provide more transparency on the issue.

Jordan shared that the EU’s Digital Services Act surrounds illegal content and hate speech in various nations. This is why the committee wants greater communications and compliance while engaging in the discussion.

The subpoenas arrive at a time when the FTC rolled out another inquiry regarding tech censorship and how such probes will assist agencies better comprehend how the companies violate the law by silencing and making Americans vulnerable when they opt to take part in free speech.

The request is important as tech giants are supposed to provide a host of services from different social media apps, including video sharing and event planning, not to forget sharing rides. We’ve already seen the committee that’s led by Republicans discuss tech giants engaging in censorship.

The panel has already sent similar subpoenas to Meta and Alphabet amongst others in 2023. This is where they demanded that they turn over communications between the firms and the American government regarding censorship issues.