jan. 6
Bulletins

Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed Meta and three other social media giants

Alphabet, Meta, Reddit and Twitter gave "inadequate responses" for requested information.

Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed Meta and three other social media giants
Rioters scale the U.S. Capitol walls during the insurrection.
Photo: Blink O'faneye/Flickr

The House Select Committee on January 6 has subpoenaed Alphabet, Meta, Reddit and Twitter as part of its investigation due to the companies' "inadequate responses" for relevant requested information.

The committee is demanding records from these companies relating to misinformation, extremism, efforts to overturn the 2020 election and foreign influence in the election that may have spread on their platforms, Rep. Bennie Thompson, its chairman, announced Thursday. The committee seeks to investigate how the spread of misinformation and extremism these platforms contributed to the insurrection, and what, if anything, the companies did to stop it.

The committee first sent letters to these companies and dozens of others, including right-leaning platforms like Gab, Parler and Rumble, requesting records in August.

“It’s disappointing that after months of engagement, we still do not have the documents and information necessary to answer those basic questions," Thompson said in a statement. "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."

Nat Rubio-Licht

Nat Rubio-Licht is a Los Angeles-based news writer at Protocol. They graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in newspaper and online journalism in May 2020. Prior to joining the team, they worked at the Los Angeles Business Journal as a technology and aerospace reporter.

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