Google Faces Congressional Scrutiny As House Panel Demands Internal Communications On Government Pressure: 'YouTube… Was A Direct Participant In The Federal Government's Censorship Regime'

On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL, the parent company of Google, which owns YouTube, demanding it turn over communications with the executive branch regarding content moderation and alleged government pressure to censor speech.

What Happened: House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) issued the subpoena requesting Alphabet's internal communications with the current and previous administrations, as well as with third-party groups working with the federal government, reported The Hill.

"The Committee's oversight has revealed that YouTube, a subsidiary of Alphabet, was a direct participant in the federal government's censorship regime," Jordan wrote in a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.

Jordan cited emails between Google and the White House in 2021 concerning COVID-19 misinformation, stating that government officials pressured tech platforms to remove certain content.

He argued that the subpoena was necessary to help develop legislation limiting the executive branch's ability to influence content decisions on social media platforms.

Google spokesperson José Castañeda responded, stating, "We will continue to show the committee how we enforce our policies independently, rooted in our commitment to free expression."

Last year, Meta Platforms Inc. META CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, his company experienced pressure from top officials in the Joe Biden administration to restrict certain content on its platforms.

Zuckerberg also stated that he would oppose any similar pressures in the future.

"Alphabet, to our knowledge, has not similarly disavowed the Biden-Harris Administration's attempts to censor speech," Jordan said in his letter on Thursday.

Why It's Important: The subpoena issued to Alphabet is part of a broader scrutiny of tech companies’ relationships with the government.

Earlier this year, Meta also decided to shift toward a Community Notes-style content moderation system, resembling the method used by Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter.

The transition was viewed as part of big tech companies' attempt to build ties with the Donald Trump administration. For instance, several major U.S. corporations including Meta, Target Corp, and McDonald's have ended their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program following former Trump’s call to eliminate “illegal preferences.”

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has also intensified its call to break up Alphabet Inc.’s Google, advocating for the sale of Chrome and imposing limits on its search operations.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Alphabet’s Class A shares dipped 0.086% in after-hours trading to $173.71, while Class C shares fell 0.023% to $175.71. During Friday’s regular session, Class A shares closed 0.88% higher at $173.86, and Class C shares rose 0.88% to $175.75, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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