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,” Thompson,
D-Miss., said in the letter.
Thompson added that it’s “disappointing
that after months of engagement,” the four
companies have not voluntarily turned over
the necessary information and documents that
would help lawmakers answer the questions at
the heart of their investigation.
In his letter, Thompson outlined the way
the companies were complicit in the deadly
insurrection perpetrated by supporters of
Donald Trump and far-right groups.
YouTube, owned by Alphabet, was the platform
where a significant amount of communication
took place “relevant to the planning and
execution” of the siege against the Capitol,
“including livestreams of the attack as it was
taking place,” the letter stated.
In a statement, a YouTube spokesperson said it is
“actively cooperating” with the committee and
is committed to stopping content that incites
violence or undermines faith in elections.
”We enforced these policies in the run-up
to Jan. 6 and continue to do so today,” the
spokesperson wrote.
The committee also outlined how how Meta,
formerly known as Facebook, was reportedly
used to exchange hateful, violent and inciting
messages between users as well as spread
misinformation that the 2020 presidential
election was fraudulent in an attempt to
coordinate the “Stop the Steal” movement.