Senate Judiciary Committee Subpoenas Tech Giants on Controversial Content, Also Advances Supreme Court Nominee

October 23, 2020 — Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee boycotted Thursday’s executive meeting, during which the committee, led by a Republican majority, advanced Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to be a justice on the Supreme Court. Additionally, the committee voted to authorize subpoenas relating to the Online Content Policy Modernization Act of Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Both Barrett’s nomination and Graham’s subpoena requests were met favorably by present members of the committee, receiving votes of 12-0.

The committee’s moves today advance Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination out of the committee and to the Senate floor for final voting. Graham called it a momentous day for conservative women and a groundbreaking, historic moment for the American legal and political community.

The legislators also approved subpoena requests for Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, and Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, relating to the the Online Content Modernization Act. “There is a lot of interest on the Democratic side for these subpoenas,” said Graham, “hopefully this will give us some leverage to secure their testimonies.”

Graham’s bill has been met with much criticism. So has the nomination of Barrett.

Many have called Graham’s Online Content Policy Modernization Act a threat to the open internet. It would rewrite Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. That would remove technology platforms’ immunity for the publication of objectionable third party content on their sites.

Instead, the act would insert a limited list of what kinds of content could be moderated without accountability, potentially making it harder for online platforms to take common-sense moderation measures like removing spam or correcting disinformation.

For the nomination of Barrett to the Supreme Court, President Donald Trump has been criticized for trying to push through an appointment before Election Day on November 3. Furthermore, many remember the Republican Party’s united front four years ago in blocking a vote on President Barack Obama’s nominee to fill an election-year vacancy on the high court.

While Democrats continue to criticize the recent Republican move, apparent by today’s boycott, Republican members present claimed that the Democrats set the precedent, by ushering in an era of judicial filibusters.

“The era of mutual respect ended in 1987,” said Sen. Michael Lee, R-Utah, “when the Democratic Senate defeated the nomination of Judge Robert Bork.”

Chairman Graham noted that Democrats “changed the rules in 2013 when they utilized the filibuster for Justice Neil Gorsuch.” Graham said that the move set in motion patterns he has worried about for a long time.