An unnamed staffer on the House Energy and Commerce Committee is saying that the House Energy and Commerce Committee is considering issuing a subpoena to Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter over his site’s shadow banning of conservatives.
The committee should make it clear that it is considering naming Twitter as a public utility that needs to be placed under government control. They should also make it clear that they consider the banning of conservatives to boost Democrats is a form of campaign contribution that leaves Twitter wide open to charges of making illegal contributions because the shadow banning provides a benefit greater than the maximum contributions allowed by law.
After negotiations to convince Dorsey to testify before the committee over its data and content policies, the Republican source told Politico that the social media giant is “delaying” and “stonewalling” the committee.
“I appreciate your willingness to speak publicly on issues facing Twitter and agree complex algorithms must be better communicated to consumers. After many good faith efforts from staff, this is your formal invitation to appear before @HouseCommerce on Sept. 5,” Republican Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, tweeted at Dorsey Thursday.
A representative from Twitter, along with representatives from Facebook and Google, met with the House Committee on the Judiciary on July 17 to discuss the allegations of the giant platforms censoring conservatives.
During the hearing, Democrats claimed that the major platforms — which control nearly every aspect of social media, internet searches, and internet ads — don’t have a bias against conservatives.
Democrats say they see no evidence of bias even though the top conservative sites have seen a 93% drop in traffic and even President Trump’ reach has dropped by 45%, while liberal and Democratic sites see no change at all.