House Judiciary Republicans Zero in on Big Tech Collusion with Biden Administration; GOP Lawmakers Call on Biden to Release Records of Censorship Collusion with Social Media Platforms

House Judiciary Republicans zero in on Big Tech collusion with Biden administration:

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are demanding several Big Tech companies hand over documents as the panel expands its probe into the Biden administration’s attempts to curtail online freedom of speech.

In letters Wednesday to CEOs from Apple, Amazon, Google parent Alphabet, Facebook parent Meta and Microsoft, Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican and the incoming chairman of the committee, accused the companies of being an arm of the Biden administration’s “woke speech police.”

“Big Tech is out to get conservatives, and is increasingly willing to undermine First Amendment values by complying with the Biden Administration’s directives that suppress freedom of speech online,” Mr. Jordan wrote. “This approach undermines fundamental American principles and allows powerful government actors to silence political opponents and stifle opposing viewpoints.”

In the letters, Mr. Jordan insists that the tech giants hand over documents and communication between their employees and “any individual affiliated with the Executive Branch” dating back to January 2020, pursuant to the committee’s probe into “the Biden administration’s collusion with Big Tech to censor, silence, or reduce the reach of certain information and viewpoints.”

Mr. Jordan is also demanding that the companies hand over documents and communications concerning content moderation influenced by federal officials and lists of individuals who have been responsible for shaping company policies related to the suppression or restriction of content. —>READ MORE HERE

GOP lawmakers call on Biden to release records of censorship collusion with social media platforms:

Lawmakers who accuse the Biden administration of colluding with social media firms to trample on free speech rights have teed up a records request for White House communications with tech giants.

The formal request, known as a resolution of inquiry, was submitted by Rep. Andrew Clyde, Georgia Republican. It calls for President Biden to provide the House with documents or records relating to coordination between the administration and social media companies to censor, suppress or deplatform people.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington Republican, said that top Twitter executives were “shadow-banning” conservatives, despite former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey claiming otherwise when he testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in 2018.

“And there’s been similar reports showing that the Biden administration has been colluding with Big Tech to shut down speech, especially speech that runs counter to the president’s agenda,” she said. “In March, the surgeon general stood at the White House podium and urged big tech to ‘Do more to silence people online.’”

Mr. Clyde’s inquiry seeks documents that include information on censorship activities related to COVID-19, the president’s son Hunter Biden, elections and documents or records relating to plans to provide grant funding to consortiums, including the Democratic National Committee. —>READ MORE HERE

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