Alphabet (GOOG) is facing a subpoena from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan for communications with the previous US administration on alleged censorship, according to the committee Thursday.
The committee is investigating "how and to what extent the Biden-Harris administration coerced or colluded with companies and other intermediaries, including Alphabet, to censor lawful speech," according to a statement Thursday from the committee.
Jordan is seeking communications between Alphabet and the executive branch, internal communication at Alphabet about its correspondence with the executive branch, and the company's communications with other parties that may have worked with the executive branch.
The committee said it was able to obtain documents showing that the federal government "successfully pressured" Alphabet subsidiary YouTube to censor certain lawful content.
In a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Jordan said that the committee needs to understand the extent to which the government colluded with companies to censor speech" in order to develop effective legislation. Jordan plans new statutory limitations on the government's ability to work with Big Tech.
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