A group of House Republicans is asking Twitter's board to keep all records related to Elon Musk's offer to buy the platform so they can investigate, if the party regains a majority this fall. Twitter has repeatedly succumbed to criticism from Republicans due to accusations of censorship.

A group of 18 Republicans in the House of Representatives are asking the Twitter board to keep all records related to Elon Musk's offer to buy the company, CNBC reported, citing the letters to Twitter's board members. “Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee asked Twitter Board Chairman Bret Taylor and other members of the board to preserve any messages from official or personal accounts, including through encryption software, that relate to Twitter's consideration of Musk's offer,” CNBC writes.

The letter, written by Ranking Member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said that as Congress continues to explore big tech and how best to protect Americans' free speech rights, it serves as a formal request to preserve all records and materials related to Musk's Twitter acquisition proposal. Materials to be retained also include Twitter's review and response to the Tesla CEO's proposal and Twitter's assessment of its shareholders' interests in relation to the proposal.

“You should construe this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction or alteration, whether intentionally or negligently, of all documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that is or may be potentially responsive to this congressional inquiry,” the letter continued.

Thus, if Republicans regain their majority in the House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm elections, they may launch an investigation into Twitter, especially if the company refuses to accept Musk's offer. If the Republicans win, the House Judiciary Committee may decide to subpoena the records of the council's internal deliberations.

Twitter has previously attracted the attention of Republican lawmakers. The social network has been accused of unfairly deleting or moderating posts for ideological reasons. Twitter denies this and says it applies community-based standards.

“Decisions regarding Twitter’s future governance will undoubtedly be consequential for public discourse in the United States and could give rise to renewed efforts to legislate in furtherance of preserving free expression online. Among other things, the Board’s reactions to Elon Musk’s offer to purchase Twitter, and outsider opposition to Musk’s role in Twitter’s future are concerning,” the letter reads.

© 2022, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.

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