The House Judiciary Committee, led by the Republican Party, wants Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to hand over a moderation policy for his recent “Twitter Killer” app as he investigates the Biden administration’s alleged pressure on Big Tech to censor political dissent.
In a letter sent on MondayHouse Judiciary Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told the Meta chief that Threads wouldn’t escape the investigation launched earlier this yr against other tech corporations including Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft.
“Threads raises serious, specific concerns since it is touted as a rival to Elon Musk’s Twitter, which has faced political persecution from the Biden administration after Musk’s commitment to free speech,” Jordan wrote.
He pointed to a recent move by the Federal Trade Commission regarding Twitter to expose internal communications as a part of an investigation into whether Musk’s social media platform can still adequately protect consumer information.
Earlier this month, a federal judge blocked Biden administration officials from contacting social media corporations in a landmark injunction against government censorship and suppression of online postings.
U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty, appointed by Trump, determined that the White House likely colluded with Big Tech to censor protected speech throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
![The Republican Party-led House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) (pictured), is seeking information from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the company's content moderation policy governing its new social media app Threads.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013944521-1.jpg?w=1024)
“From the Committee [Feb. 15] Meta’s subpoenas, we’ve got obtained additional evidence that the federal government has coerced or colluded with technology, social media and other corporations to moderate content online,” Jordan wrote..
“These examples reinforce the Committee’s serious concerns about whether the chief is engaging in proxy censorship – using deputies to censor, suppress or discourage speech in ways in which the federal government cannot do alone.”
The threads, which have amassed greater than 150 million users since launching this month, have already been accused of censoring conservative voices like Donald Trump Jr.
Meta-owned Facebook also blocked The Post from sharing coverage from Hunter Biden’s laptop and banned former President Donald Trump after the January 6 riots.
“Provided that Meta has censored First Amendment-protected speech because of this of requests and demands from government agencies previously, the Committee is anxious about potential First Amendment violations which have occurred or will occur on the Threads platform,” Jordan wrote.
![The letter accused Meta, which is headed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, of possession](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000007070705.jpg?w=1024)
“Despite launching just 12 days ago, there are reports that Threads is already engaging in censorship, including censoring users, but no grounds for appeal.”
The post asked Meta for comment.
Zuckerberg admitted last yr that Facebook made a mistake by banning The Post’s exclusive report on Hunter Biden’s laptop ahead of the 2020 election.
![The Threads app has already been accused of censoring conservative votes.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013919740.jpg?w=1024)
He told Spotify podcaster Joe Rogan last August that Facebook had decided to limit sharing of the story – but not stop it entirely – after the FBI told Meta employees to watch out for Russian propaganda ahead of the election.
“The FBI mainly got here to us… [saying]”Hey, try to be on top alert. We thought there was numerous Russian propaganda within the 2016 elections. We have received notification that the same dump is coming soon, so just stay tuned,” Zuckerberg told Rogan.
Greater than 50 former senior intelligence officials signed the letter, which said the laptop story “has all of the classic hallmarks of a Russian information operation.”