The Us Congress Investigates Foreign Pressures on Tech Platforms

A committee of the United States Congress issued subpoenas to eight major technology companies in the country, requesting information on possible restrictions and censorship imposed by foreign governments on content available online within the USA.

Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent subpoenas this week demanding details about these companies' communications with foreign governments regarding "compliance with censorship regulations, rulings, or other governmental measures," according to a statement released on Wednesday.

"The Committee needs to clarify how and to what extent foreign governments have restricted the freedom of expression of Americans in their own country," the statement notes.

Meanwhile, the committee seeks to determine if the administration of former Democratic President Joe Biden "collaborated or encouraged these procedures" and how.

The subpoenas were addressed to the CEOs of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Rumble, TikTok, and X, arguing that these actions could threaten "the civil liberties of American citizens."

"This subpoena reflects an essential conflict between the United States Congress and certain foreign governments regarding Americans' right to express themselves freely in the digital environment," the letters sent to the company leaders indicate.

The demand comes two weeks after the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance, gave a vigorous speech in Germany, accusing European countries of restricting freedom of expression.

Vance also recently questioned the authoritarian content moderation rules of the European Union, known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), which were mentioned in the subpoenas sent.

This legislation has become a key point of the growing friction between the European Union and, on the other hand, the major US technology companies, along with the new administration of Donald Trump.

The committee also highlighted other cases, such as court orders in Australia and Brazil that have ordered the global removal of certain content on digital platforms, in a clear display of censorship of freedom of expression.

The letters point out that these orders were challenged by X, the social network owned by Elon Musk, a Trump ally who assumed a relevant role in the new administration.