House Committee intensifies probe into tech giants' handling of Trump assassination attempt

House lawmakers have expanded their investigation into how Google and Meta managed information surrounding the recent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee demanded additional details from both tech giants regarding their internal policies and programming practices.

Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent letters to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, requesting documentation on the technological processes related to the attack on Trump at his campaign rally in western Pennsylvania last month, the Daily Wire reports.

The companies have faced accusations of censorship after users reported that Google search results failed to autocomplete queries about the assassination attempt, while Meta's AI chatbot allegedly described the attack as fictional.

"The Committee is committed to fully understanding when and how information is being suppressed or modified by social media companies, whether due to technical error, safety policies, or specific intent to mislead," Comer stated in both letters.

In his communication with Pichai, Comer specifically inquired about Google Search policies and the design of its autocomplete function in response to newsworthy events. Google had previously explained in a briefing with lawmakers that information about the attack was omitted from autocomplete results due to a safety protocol concerning political assassinations.

Comer noted that the briefing "raised additional questions, especially against the backdrop of an alarming pattern of speech suppression and censorship through technology and social media companies."

Addressing Zuckerberg, Comer highlighted reports that Meta's AI chatbot had responded to queries by stating there "was no real assassination attempt on Donald Trump." Meta claimed it had attempted to program its AI to avoid responding to such questions to prevent the spread of misinformation, but acknowledged that some users received incorrect answers.

Both letters referenced the controversial handling of the New York Post's story about Hunter Biden's laptop prior to the 2020 election, drawing parallels to the current situation.

The committee has requested detailed information from both companies about their content moderation policies and AI programming practices, particularly in relation to potentially sensitive or controversial topics.