House GOP 'weaponization' Committee Targets Big Tech

Big Tech will soon have a turn in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.

Although House Republicans hold a slim 222-213 lead over House Democrats, the GOP-led committee could examine long-standing concerns. Most notable is the government's investigation into how social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook affect attitudes toward conservative content.

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First party technology agenda Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who chairs the special subcommittee on federal firearms. The committee will have subpoena power and will focus on many of the same issues exposed in the "Twitter Files" with the recent release of private communications between various government agencies, White House staff and members of Congress. Articles considered for acceptance include skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccine, theories about the origin of the virus, news with potentially political content, and more. includes.

"The American people are fed up with this," Jordan told the House recently, defending the need for government officials to communicate the demand to social media companies.

"We just want to add," said Jordan, the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, adding, "That's what this committee is about. And that's what we're going to focus on. That's what we're going to do."

While the subcommittee's hearing and subsequent announcement may appeal to many Republican voters, it is unclear whether the government's demands in question rise to the level of First Amendment violations or are inappropriate.

"To cross the line, the state must put so much pressure on private organizations to behave in a certain way that the organization's choice to do so is actually the state's choice. This is a high bar. I have not yet seen him cross." Corbin Barthold, a Washington Internet policy consultant, told the Washington Examiner of TechFreedom, a nonpartisan think tank based in DC.

"That doesn't mean I'm going to condone the actions of the federal government," said Barthold, who understands the difference between wanted and illegal.

In the future, the Jordanian subcommittee may adopt legislation that prevents government attempts to influence content moderation by private social media platforms.

“Congress may want to regulate when government officials can 'flag' content for platforms. For example, it could be argued that government agencies can continue to report accounts run by foreign agents, but should stop reporting accounts that make controversial medical claims," ​​he said. private platforms."

Jordan is already working on legislation with the Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the new House Oversight Committee Chairman and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA), new energy and House Speaker. The Commerce Committee Oversight Committee website says the Trio bill targets social media violations by members of President Joe Biden's administration. Their proposal prohibits "administrative staff and federal officials from using their authority or influence to encourage censorship of speech or to pressure social media companies to censor speech."

But passing content moderation laws is an uphill battle for Republicans. Aside from the Democratic-controlled Senate and the threat of a presidential veto by Democrats, the two parties differ substantially on the changes they want to see in technology laws.

Democrats worry about what they call "dangerous disinformation" spreading online. Republicans worry that too much conservative content will be removed from the internet. While both sides were unhappy with the situation, their critics were diametrically opposed and difficult to resolve through legislation. Changes in either direction would eliminate or reduce the federal liability shield known as Section 230. In the last session, many bills were introduced in this regard, but none were passed.

House Republicans may not have fared much better on other technical issues they've expressed interest in solving. Because many states enact online privacy regulations, Congress cannot enact federal privacy laws. Republicans support state deterrence laws, and Democrats don't want to lower the bar for prosecutors in any area.

Proposals to protect children online face similar partisan divisions. All of the antitrust laws failed in the last session. Even with high-profile views from Biden and former Trump administration attorney general William Barr, these competing proposals do not appear likely to pass in the current session.

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As key policy differences stymie technology legislation on Capitol Hill, the Federal Trade Commission has aggressively argued that regulatory powers govern the industry without direction or authorization from Congress. It is reported that the Ministry of Justice will sue the advertising business of Google and Apple.

While federal agencies other than Capitol Hill may take more visible action against Big Tech over the next few years, that hasn't stopped Jordan from trying to motivate House Democrats. He addressed the House: “This is about the First Amendment, you are concerned. "Honestly, I hope we get a bipartisan deal to protect the First Amendment."

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