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Chairman Bennie Thompson announced that the House Select Committee is demanding records from 15 social media companies related to the January 6 violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In letters to the companies, Chairman Thompson seeks information, including records related to the spread of misinformation, efforts to overturn the 2020 election or prevent the certification of the results, domestic violent extremism, and foreign influence in the 2020 election.
Chairman Thompson set a two-week deadline for the companies to produce records.
This expansion of the Select Committee’s probe comes on the heels of last week’s demands for records from eight Executive Branch agencies. It also follows the July 27 hearing at which four police officers testified about their experiences on January 6th defending the U.S. Capitol in the face of a violent mob aiming to derail the peaceful transfer of power.
The officers’ call to action underscored the importance of the Select Committee’s mandate to uncover the facts about January 6th and its causes and to help ensure such an attack on American democracy cannot happen again.
“The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is examining the facts, circumstances, and causes of the attack and relating to the peaceful transfer of power, in order to identify and evaluate lessons learned and to recommend corrective laws, policies, procedures, rules, or regulations,” wrote Chairman Thompson.
The letters to the social media companies seek a range of records, including data, reports, analyses, and communications stretching back to the spring of 2020.
The Select Committee is also seeking information on policy changes social media companies adopted—or failed to adopt—to address the spread of false information, violent extremism, and foreign malign influence, including decisions on banning material from platforms and contacts with law enforcement and other government entities.
The companies receiving record requests from the committee include Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Snapchat, Reddit, Parlar, Gab, Google, Tik-Tok, and several other platforms.
