Tasked with investigating the January 6 terrorist attack on the US Capitol, the US Department of Justice has issued four subpoenas to Google, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit seeking more information about the incident. The chairman of the special commission handling the case, Bennie Thompson, said in a statement that the subpoenas were issued due to “inadequate responses to prior requests for information.”
The four American giants are clearly singled out. The subpoenas relate to “the spread of misinformation, efforts to overturn the 2020 election, domestic violent extremism and foreign influence in the 2020 election”, he said on Thursday. .
“Two key questions for the special commission are how the spread of disinformation and violent extremism has contributed to the violent assault on our democracy, and what measures – if any – social media companies have taken to prevent their platforms from being fertile ground for radicalizing people to violence,” he said.
Social networks on the grill
Social networks will not be able to clear themselves this time. “It is disappointing that after months of engagement, we still do not have the documents and information needed to answer these fundamental questions. The special commission is working to get answers for the American people and to help ensure that nothing like January 6 ever happens again. We cannot allow our important work to be further delayed. »
In a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, the US lawmaker argued that YouTube was a “platform for important communications from its users that were relevant to the planning and execution of the 6 January against the United States Capitol, including live streams of the attack as it unfolded.”
The letter notes that former Trump administration official Steve Bannon live-streamed his podcast on YouTube in the days before and after Jan. 6, and that live streams of the attack appeared on YouTube during his unfolding.
Weak Defense
“The Select Committee believes that Alphabet has material undisclosed information that is critical to its investigation, regarding how Alphabet developed, implemented and reviewed its content moderation, algorithmic promotion, demonetization and other policies that may have affected the events of January 6, 2021,” he wrote.
“Alphabet, for example, has not produced documents that fully explain the non-public moderation discussions and policies that led to President Trump’s suspension or that explain whether or why the platform did or did not act on President Trump’s account. before January 6. Additionally, Alphabet has not produced any documents related to YouTube policy decisions that may have impacted the planning, coordination, and execution of the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol. »
In a statement sent to ZDNet, Google’s management defends itself by stating that it “has actively cooperated with the special commission since it began its investigation, responding substantially to its requests for documents, and has committed to work with Congress throughout this process.
US justice awaits answers
“We have strict policies prohibiting content that incites violence or undermines trust in elections through YouTube and Google products, and we enforced those policies in the run-up to January 6, and continue to do so today. today. We remain vigilant and are committed to protecting our platforms against abuse,” said a Google spokesperson.
US justice letters to the CEOs of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Reddit and Twitter, also blame those companies for failing to adequately answer congressional questions about their role in facilitating the attack last year. Asked about the issue, the management of Meta did not wish to comment, like that of Twitter.
“We have received the subpoena and will continue to work with the committee on their requests,” a Reddit spokesperson said. For its part, the platform is criticized by the commission of inquiry for having hosted the community of the “subreddit” “r/The_Donald”, which finally moved to the site TheDonald.win in 2020. According to Bennie Thompson, the site web “hosted significant discussions and planning related to the January 6 attack”.
Twitter has also been accused of allowing users to plan and execute the assault on the Capitol. According to Bennie Thompson, Twitter “would have been notified of the potential violence planned on the site before January 6th”.
Source: ZDNet.com