Mark Zuckerberg faces contempt of US Congress, sources reveal
Zuckerberg could be held in contempt of Congress for non compliance with a request for materials on government requests for content moderation strategies and measures.
An insider revealed that Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, is potentially at risk of being held in contempt of Congress as House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan considers taking legal action. The reason behind this potential action is Meta’s alleged failure to comply with subpoenas regarding a censorship inquiry.
Previously, in February, the Republican-led House of Representatives issued subpoenas to Meta and other major tech companies, seeking information related to censorship. Jim Jordan specifically requested documents discussing government statements, content moderation recommendations, and actions taken against disinformation.
In response, a spokesperson for Meta stated, ‘We have provided more than 50,000 pages of documents as requested by the committee, and we have made nearly a dozen current and former employees available to address both external and internal matters. We remain committed to collaborating with the committee going forward.’
The concerns raised by certain Republican members stem from fears of collusion between the government and Facebook in censoring conservative accounts and content, which they argue infringes upon First Amendment rights. As a result, the possibility of contempt of Congress proceedings against Meta has been raised if full compliance is not achieved. Meta received a similar request for materials after the launch of the Threads app on 5 July 2023.