House Republicans are pushing forward to cite Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, for contempt of Congress. The announcement comes as a result of Meta’s perceived reluctance to provide sufficient documents relevant to the company’s supposed censorship.
The investigation conducted by the Judiciary Committee centers around whether Meta coordinated with the White House and other Executive Branches to censor users on their platform, possibly violating the First Amendment rights of these users. While Meta has complied by providing some documents, the committee states that this does not meet the requirements laid out in the subpoena request for information.
Despite Meta’s submission of additional documents today, sources from the committee affirm that the company’s cooperation remains inadequate. Meta has defended its efforts, asserting that they have shared over 53,000 pages of documents, both internal and external, and have facilitated nearly a dozen meetings with current and former employees to discuss matters of interest.
WATCH:
House GOP plans to cite Mark Zuckerberg for contempt of Congress. pic.twitter.com/wSh5uDsjM7
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) July 25, 2023
The contempt report from the committee provides insight into the specific documentation they require from Meta. These internal documents are crucial to reveal how Meta evaluated and responded to any requests or directives from the executive branch to censor content. Additionally, the committee seeks insight into Meta’s decision-making process concerning viewpoint censorship in the “modern town square.”
If held in contempt, Zuckerberg could face up to a year in jail. However, this will only proceed if the Department of Justice or the U.S. Attorney decide to move forward with the prosecution – a scenario that currently seems unlikely.