The House committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol asked 15 social media companies on Friday for records relating to “misinformation,” efforts to overturn the election, “domestic violent extremism,” and foreign influence in the election.
The records requests stretch back to information since April 1, 2020, nine months before the Capitol attack, and the committee set a two-week deadline for the records. Companies that received the requests are 4chan, 8kun, Facebook, Gab, Google, Parler, Reddit, Snapchat, Telegram, theDonald.win, TikTok, Twitch, Twitter, YouTube, and Zello.
In letters sent to the companies, the committee asked for reports, analyses, and communications relating to “misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation relating to the 2020 election,” among the other topics, as well as any changes to algorithms that were considered or implemented in relation to those topics.
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“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,” Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said in a statement.
Friday’s request follows sweeping demands earlier this week for records from the executive branch. It sought contacts between those in the executive branch with dozens of those outside the administration, including former Trump adviser Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, some of whom have said that they intended to fight the request.
Former President Donald Trump indicated in a statement that he will fight the request, saying that “executive privilege will be defended” and calling it a “partisan exercise.”
Records requests from the committee so far have not escalated to subpoenas.
The Jan. 6 committee met for the first time last month and heard emotional testimony from Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police officers who responded to the attack.
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Only two Republicans sit on the Democrat-controlled committee: Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger. Both of them were appointed by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A bipartisan, bicameral commission was blocked in the Senate earlier this year, and Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pulled his picks for the select committee after Pelosi vetoed two of his recommendations, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan.
A Reuters report last week said the FBI has found little evidence that the Jan. 6 Capitol break-in was coordinated.
