Republicans demand Twitter board save records on Musk’s bid
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Rep. Jim Jordan from Ohio attends a press conference alongside members of GOP Doctors Caucus following a House Republican Conference at the U.S Capitol on Wednesday, January 19, 20,22.
CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
An 18-member group of House Republicans are asking Twitter’sAll records concerning the matter to be kept by board Elon MuskThe offer by ‘to buy the company was made by, opening the door to a possible congressional investigation should the party retain the majority.
CNBC received an exclusive letter by the House Judiciary Committee requesting that Bret Taylor, Chairman of Twitter Board, preserve all messages sent from personal and official accounts, as well as encryption software, relating to Musk’s offer to Twitter.
The letter was written by Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and it stated that Congress is continuing to investigate Big Tech to ensure Americans have free speech rights.
The letter stated that the preservation notice should be interpreted as an instruction to follow all reasonable precautions to avoid the destruction or alteration of any documents, communications or information (including electronic information and metadata) which may or might respond to the congressional inquiry.
This request indicates that if Republicans win back control of the House in 2022’s midterm elections they will launch an investigation into Twitter. This is especially true if Twitter declines Musk’s offer to investigate the company. Musk was the CEO of Twitter. TeslaSpaceX. SpaceX and the House Judiciary Committee under Republican control may decide to subpoena records regarding the board’s internal discussions.
Republican lawmakers have been paying attention to Twitter for a while.
Some conservatives have accused Twitter of unfairly removing or moderating posts on ideological grounds. Twitter denied that it did so, and said that its standards are based on community guidelines.
The lawmakers sent Taylor Friday a letter. They wrote that “Decisions concerning Twitter’s future governance would undoubtedly have a significant impact on public discourse in the United States” and suggested they could revive efforts to pass legislation to preserve free speech online. The Board’s reaction to Elon Musk’s offer to buy Twitter and the opposition from outsiders to Musk’s involvement in Twitter’s future, among other things, are alarming.
Twitter was also the subject of Republican criticisms in October 2020, when it became a focus for Republican attacks. blocked links to a New York Post storyHunter Biden, Joe’s son and vice-president, allegedly tried to present his father to an executive of a Ukrainian firm Hunter worked for. At the time the article was published, a spokesperson for Biden’s presidential candidacy said that such a meeting never took place and that “never did the Post ask the Biden campaign about critical elements.”
Twitter saidIt blocked the link to the story at that time because the article violated Twitter’s hack materials policy. The tweet also contained personal information such as email addresses which were in violation of its rules. Jack Dorsey (then-CEO) later claimed it was incorrect to block links to that story. Twitter then updated its policy to reflect this. This incident drew criticisms from right-leaning Twitter users, who felt that the company had unfairly blocked coverage of the story for ideological reasons.
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