In a recent development in the House Judiciary Committee’s ongoing investigation, Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has issued a subpoena to the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), probing its potential role in collaborations with the federal government to censor American citizens on social media.
Rep. Jordan specifically highlighted the committee’s objective, noting, “The Committee on the Judiciary is conducting oversight of how and to what extent the Executive Branch has coerced and colluded with companies and other intermediaries to censor speech.”
CCDH has until the end of September to submit any correspondence with the executive branch touching on subjects of online content moderation, the veracity of content, and content suppression.
This formal move follows CCDH’s refusal to voluntarily participate in the investigation after being approached by the committee.
In a detailed letter to Imran Ahmed, CEO of CCDH, Chairman Jordan expressed his concerns, stating that by “declining to produce anything of substance in response to the Committee’s request, CCDH is hindering the Committee’s ability to fulfill its constitutional oversight obligations.”
Highlighting the necessity of this investigation, Jordan mentioned documents that indicated the Biden administration’s recurrent reliance on CCDH’s report titled “The Disinformation Dozen” during its alleged campaign pressuring social media platforms.
The report controversially accuses certain figures of being “anti-vaxxers … responsible for almost two-thirds of anti-vaccine content circulating on social media platforms.”
Delving deeper into the importance of understanding the executive branch’s relationships, Jordan elaborated, “To develop effective legislation, such as the possible enactment of new statutory limits on the Executive Branch’s ability to work with social media platforms and other companies to restrict the circulation of content and deplatform users, the Committee must first understand the nature of how the Executive Branch coerced and colluded with companies and other intermediaries to censor speech.”
This issue has garnered significant attention with Jordan citing various reports, including an article titled, “Facebook Bowed to White House Pressure, Removed Covid Posts” published on July 28, 2023.
With the ongoing investigation and the CCDH’s previously non-cooperative stance, it remains to be seen how this matter will further unfold.
Rep. Jordan’s letter was also shared with The Honorable Jerrold L. Nadler, the Ranking Member of the committee.
You can read it below:
