Rep. Nancy Mace, the top Republican on the House Oversight Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, issued a subpoena to the Biden administration seeking communications with social media companies ahead of the November elections. Mace believes that the administration may be trying to limit information on social media platforms. This comes after the administration did not respond to Mace’s previous requests for information. Conservatives have accused the administration of pressuring companies like Meta and Twitter to take down content that doesn’t serve them politically. However, the Supreme Court ruled this summer that the platforms independently strengthened their moderation policies before the Biden administration got involved. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that White House officials pressured the company to censor Covid-19-related material, but he regrets complying with their requests. Mace pointed to statements made by the FCC’s Brendan Carr as evidence of possible content suppression attempts by the administration. The new subpoena requests communications between the White House and social media companies related to the concealment or suppression of information. Rep. Gerry Connolly, the ranking member on the subcommittee, believes the subpoena is an overreaction and criticized Republicans for their actions. The White House did not immediately respond to Mace’s subpoena.
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House Republicans issue subpoena to Biden administration concerning suspected social media censorship
