House Judiciary Committee subpoenas Alphabet, Meta, other tech giants over 'foreign censorship' of speech
The House committee is concerned that foreign laws around online content "have limited Americans' access to lawful speech" in the U.S.
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent subpoenas to eight technology companies asking for more information about their communications with foreign governments over concerns that they seek to "censor speech" in the U.S.
The subpoenas were sent Wednesday to the CEOs of Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and TikTok, as well as X and video platform Rumble.
"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," Jordan said in a statement.
CNBC reached out to each of the subpoenaed companies for comment. A spokesperson for Microsoft said the company is engaged with the panel and "committed to working in good faith."
A Rumble spokesperson said it "has received the subpoena and we look forward to sharing information related to the ongoing efforts of numerous governments around the globe who seek to suppress the innate human right to self expression."