Wednesday, February 15, 2023 5:37 pm35 Comments

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U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Wednesday subpoenaed Apple CEO Tim Cook and the CEOs of Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook- and Instagram-parent Meta Platforms, and Microsoft for documents and communications relating to free-speech issues.

Reuters:

Jordan and other conservatives accused the companies of suppressing conservative speech… “These subpoenas are the first step in holding Big Tech accountable,” Jordan’s office said in a statement.

Microsoft and Meta said that they had already begun producing documents. Microsoft said it was “engaged with the Committee, and committed to working in good faith.” None of the other three companies responded to a request for comment.

The subpoenas, sent to Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, Andy Jassy of Amazon.com, Tim Cook of Apple, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Satya Nadella of Microsoft, demand documents and communications related to alleged collusion between the government and the companies to stifle free speech.

Jordan set a March 23 deadline to turn over documents.

MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote back in January 2021:

Again, Apple’s stated reasoning for pulling Parler is fine, if applied uniformly.

Yet, Twitter, Facebook, etc. have never been suspended from Apple’s App Store.

Anyone who claims that Twitter and/or Facebook have robust content moderation in place that effectively removes harmful or dangerous content that encourages violence and illegal activity is either ignorant or lying.

MacDailyNews Note: The press release from the office of U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, verbatim:

Today, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) subpoenaed the chief executive officers of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft for documents and communications relating to the federal government’s reported collusion with Big Tech to suppress free speech.

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 to suppress First Amendment-protected speech. These subpoenas are the first step in holding Big Tech accountable.

Today’s subpoenas require Sundar Pichai, Andy Jassy, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Satya Nadella to turn over all requested documents and communications by March 23, 2023.

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