House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, took a step further in the committee’s investigation into the nonprofit organization by subpoenaing the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a watchdog group focused on hate speech.
The subpoena was issued by Jordan to obtain documents related to the CCDH’s communication with the federal government. In a letter addressed to the group, Jordan accused them of refusing to comply with the committee’s requests voluntarily.
The CCDH has previously responded to the committee by explaining that its work is nonpartisan and funded by private donors, not government contracts or donations.
Despite this, Jordan’s latest letter continues to press the CCDH regarding its communication with the government. According to Jordan, the group’s failure to provide substantial information hinders the committee’s ability to fulfill its constitutional oversight obligations.
This subpoena comes after an earlier request from Jordan for documents and communications between the CCDH, the federal government, and social media companies.
The Hill reached out to a spokesperson for the CCDH for comment on the subpoena.
In a response letter to Jordan, the CCDH’s lawyer highlighted the group’s nonpolitical and nonpartisan status as a 501(c)(3) charitable entity. The letter also emphasized the CCDH’s collaboration with officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations, including the former Trump administration.
The CCDH regularly publishes reports that track the dissemination of misinformation on social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).
This pressure on the CCDH is part of House Republicans’ ongoing allegations of anti-conservative censorship online. However, Democrats have criticized the GOP’s focus on these allegations, asserting that private companies have the First Amendment right to moderate content as they see fit.
Furthermore, apart from Jordan’s pressure, the CCDH is also facing a lawsuit filed by X, a platform purchased by billionaire Elon Musk. The lawsuit alleges that the CCDH unlawfully scraped data from the platform, leading to a decline in revenue after advertisers suspended spending on the site.
The CCDH has firmly denied these allegations and expressed its determination to defend itself against the lawsuit.
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