In recent days, congressional Republicans have issued a subpoena to the Federal Trade Commission for what they call “overly intrusive questions” during Twitter’s antitrust investigation.
The subpoena, sent to the FTC late last week, comes after a series of hearings and other inquiries conducted by the agency into the world’s largest tech companies.
It specifically cites the FTC’s requests to executives from Twitter, Google and Facebook to answer questions about their “internal competitive practices, business decisions, and acquisitions.”
“Overly intrusive questions and requests for documents take up critical resources and distract company leadership from their core business activities,” the Republican members argue in the subpoena.
The probe is part of an expansive investigation into the tech industry and the various ways the companies could be exerting anti-competitive behavior.
The lawmakers argue that the FTC’s investigation is obstructionist and argue that the agency has no business inquiring into the companies’ internal practices.
They are also questioning the FTC’s possible violation of the First Amendment, as their operations are “being scrutinized for their involvement in public discourse and debate,” the GOP letter states.
The subcommittee also questions the FTC’s requests for documents related to “social media, algorithms, content moderation and data collection practices” as “not designed to uncover potential antitrust violations or unfair competition.”
The controversy is the latest chapter in a long-running investigation of the tech industry from the FTC and other government agencies, including the Justice Department, who are looking into the companies’ use of personal data and other matters.
It is unclear whether the FTC will comply with the GOP’s subpoena and how the agency may respond. But the episode underscores how serious the investigations into the tech giants are becoming and the intense political pressure both sides are facing.
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