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House Judiciary Committee subpoenas Big Tech companies over foreign censorship of American speech

By Doug MainwaringFebruary 27, 2025 at 1:55 PM
House Judiciary Committee subpoenas Big Tech companies over foreign censorship of American speech
Shutterstock | Tech Giants - Google Amazon Mta Apple Microsoft displayed on smartphone

Rep. Jim Jordan sent subpoenas to Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and other major tech companies seeking communications about their compliance with foreign governments’ censorship regimes and ‘the extent to which the Biden-Harris Administration aided or abetted these efforts.’

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) -- U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent subpoenas to tech giants, including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Rumble, TikTok, and X Corp — seeking each company's communications with foreign governments regarding its compliance with foreign censorship laws, regulations, judicial orders, or other government-initiated efforts in order to discover the extent of foreign censorship on free speech in the U.S.  

“In the 118th Congress, the Committee uncovered how the Biden-Harris Administration repeatedly pressured online platforms to censor Americans directly and by proxy,” wrote Jordan to each of the company heads. “Following this oversight, Meta admitted that it was wrong to bow to the Biden-Harris Administration’s demands, publicly committed to restoring free speech on its platforms, and reformed its policies.”  

“Now, in the 119th Congress, a new threat to Americans’ free expression has emerged in the form of foreign laws, regulations, and judicial orders that require or lead American companies to limit what content can be viewed on their platforms in the United States,” noted Jordan. “To protect Americans’ civil liberties, the Committee must investigate the extent and nature of these foreign censorship efforts and their effect on constitutionally protected speech at home.” 

New laws in the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) require social media companies to censor so-called “disinformation” and “harmful content,” as defined by unelected regulators, or else face enormous fines.   

In Brazil, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has issued secret, lawless orders forcing American companies to remove large amounts of content or face fines and be banned from the country.  

The Australian government introduced legislation that would require American platforms to globally remove posts that Australian regulators deem “misleading or deceptive.”  

Lawmakers in the Canadian Parliament introduced an Orwellian thoughtcrime bill that would permit Canadian authorities to place individuals on house arrest for up to a year if a judge determines that the individual might say something “likely to foment detestation or vilification of an individual or group of individuals[.]”   

Unfortunately, some American public figures have expressed support for these new foreign censorship laws.

“American companies are sounding the alarm about how foreign censorship harms American civil liberties,” said Jordan in a separate statement 

“X has pushed back against lawless judicial orders in Brazil and Australia mandating global content takedowns,” said Jordan.  “Likewise, Meta recently emphasized the need to ‘push back on governments around the world, going after American companies and pushing to censor more,’ something it acknowledged requires ‘the support of the U.S. government.’"

“The Committee must understand how and to what extent foreign governments have limited Americans' access to lawful speech in the United States, as well as the extent to which the Biden-Harris Administration aided or abetted these efforts,” he insisted.  

Jordan made public the letters to each of the tech company heads, explaining that the “subpoenas are necessary to allow companies to disclose documents to the Committee without interference by foreign governments.”   

World
February 27, 2025 at 1:55 PM
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Doug Mainwaring

Doug Mainwaring is a journalist for LifeSiteNews, an author, and a marriage, family and children's rights activist.  He has testified before the United States Congress and state legislative bodies, originated and co-authored amicus briefs for the United States Supreme Court, and has been a guest on numerous TV and radio programs.  Doug and his family live in the Washington, DC suburbs.

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  • Rep. Jim Jordan sent subpoenas to Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and other major tech companies seeking communications about their compliance with foreign governments’ censorship regimes and ‘the extent to which the Biden-Harris Administration aided or abetted these efforts.’

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