House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan thinks Mark Zuckerberg’s Threads platform is working with the federal government and censoring Americans.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sends letter to Zuckerberg raising questions about Threads censoring Americans
In a letter dated July 17, 2023 addressed to Zuckerberg, Jordan stated that the committe is “conducting oversight of how and to what extent the Executive Branch has coerced and colluded with companies and other intermediaries to censor speech.”
The letter served as a formal request to preserve all current and future records and materials related to the Threads platform. A copy of the letter was shared on Twitter by Jordan.
Is Mark Zuckerberg’s “Threads” already working with the federal government to censor Americans? pic.twitter.com/OdQeq1mCHQ
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) July 17, 2023
The House Judiciary Committee also sent Meta’s CEO a subpoena on February 15, requesting specific documents about how content is moderated and the interactions between Meta and the Executive Branch. In the current letter, the Committee also added that they would like to obtain the same content moderation information related to “Threads“.
According to the note, after the Committee requested information from Meta, they gathered more evidence. They suggested that the government has been pressuring or working together with other social media companies to control online content.
These instances further strengthen the Committee’s concerns about the possibility of the government indirectly censoring, suppressing, or discouraging speech through intermediaries because it cannot do so directly.
“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,” the letter stated.
Free speech concerns: Threads platform and government collaboration
Congress believes it’s crucial to safeguard and promote the fundamental principles of free speech. The Committee on the Judiciary must understand the extent of the government’s involvement with technology companies to censor content and remove users from platforms. This knowledge is vital for creating effective laws that limit such collaboration and protect free speech, as per the note.
The Committee is worried about possible violations of the First Amendment on the Threads platform because Meta has previously censored speech due to government requests. “Threads raises serious, specific concerns because it has been marketed as rival of Elon Musk’s Twitter, which has faced political persecution from the Biden Administration following Musk’s commitment to free speech.”
In contrast, there are reports that Threads will enforce Instagram’s community guidelines, which have led to the moderation of lawful speech under government pressure. Despite being launched just 12 days ago, there are already reports of Threads engaging in censorship without providing any means for users to appeal.
