The Select Committee issued the subpoenas as part of their investigation into the January 6th attack on the US Capitol.
The House Select Committee investigating the January 6th terror attack on the US Capitol has issued four subpoenas to Google, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit as it seeks more information about the incident. Chairman Bennie Thompson said in a statement that the subpoenas were issued due to „inadequate responses to prior requests for information.“ The subpoenas related to „the spread of misinformation, efforts to overturn the 2020 election, domestic violent extremism, and foreign influence in the 2020 election.“ „Two key questions for the Select Committee are how the spread of misinformation and violent extremism contributed to the violent attack on our democracy, and what steps—if any—social media companies took to prevent their platforms from being breeding grounds for radicalizing people to violence,“ Thompson said. „It’s disappointing that after months of engagement, we still do not have the documents and information necessary to answer those basic questions. The Select Committee is working to get answers for the American people and help ensure nothing like January 6th ever happens again. We cannot allow our important work to be delayed any further.“ In a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Thompson said YouTube was a „platform for significant communications by its users that were relevant to the planning and execution of January 6th attack on the United States Capitol, including livestreams of the attack as it was taking place.“ The letter notes that former Trump administration official Steve Bannon live-streamed his podcast on YouTube in the days before and after January 6 and live-streams of the attack appeared on YouTube as it was taking place.
