US House Panel Threatens Action Against Google For Subpoena Compliance Failure - Letter

US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Monday sent a letter to a lawyer representing Google parent company Alphabet, threatening enforcement action against the tech giant for failure to comply with the panel's subpoena for information on potential collusion with the US government to censor lawful speech

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th May, 2023) US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Monday sent a letter to a lawyer representing Google parent company Alphabet, threatening enforcement action against the tech giant for failure to comply with the panel's subpoena for information on potential collusion with the US government to censor lawful speech.

The panel issued a subpoena in February for relevant documents related to its investigation of purported collusion between the executive branch, tech companies and other intermediary institutions to censor speech online. The probe is led by the panel's Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, also chaired by Jordan.

"Alphabet's compliance with the subpoena to date is insufficient," the letter said. "If Alphabet fails to comply in full with the subpoena's demands, the Committee may be forced to consider the use of one or more enforcement mechanisms."

Alphabet has "frustrated" the panel's review of material by redacting key information, despite explicit instructions to produce unredacted documents, the letter said. Alphabet has also placed documents in a reading room that inhibits that panel's use of the materials and fails to comply with the terms of the subpoena, the letter said.

Moreover, Alphabet's rolling production has not included material relevant to the subpoena that the committee has reason to believe may be in the company's possession, the letter added.

The committee expects Alphabet to produce all responsive materials without redactions, both for documents already produced and those to be produced moving forward, directly to the panel, the letter said.

"The release of the Twitter Files has shown just how extensively the Executive Branch communicated and coordinated with technology companies regarding content moderation. We are skeptical that Alphabet's interactions with the federal government where pressure was applied were any less concerning than those of Twitter," the letter said.

The letter requested that Alphabet complete its production, without redactions, no later than May 22. The rolling production date has already been extended past the subpoena's initial March 23 return date, the letter noted.

Alphabet subsidiaries include Google, video platform YouTube, growth fund CapitalG and artificial intelligence research lab DeepMind.