House Jan. 6 Committee Subpoenas and Shreds Google, Meta, Twitter, Reddit

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The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol announced on Thursday it has issued subpoenas against social media companies.

The companies subpoenaed include Alphabet, Google’s parent company; Meta, Facebook’s parent company; Twitter; and Reddit.

In a statement, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS):

Two key questions for the Select Committee are how the spread of misinformation and violent extremism contributed to the violent attack on our democracy, and what steps—if any—social media companies took to prevent their platforms from being breeding grounds for radicalizing people to violence.

On behalf of the committee, Thompson continued by blasting the companies for failing to provide the information previously.

“It’s disappointing that after months of engagement, we still do not have the documents and information necessary to answer those basic questions,” Thompson writes. “The Select Committee is working to get answers for the American people and help ensure nothing like January 6th ever happens again. We cannot allow our important work to be delayed any further.”