WASHINGTON, D.C. - On January 10, a report titled "The FBI's Collaboration with a Ukrainian Intelligence Agency to Censor American Speech" was released by the House Judiciary Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
The House Judiciary Committee says the report describes a collaboration between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). It is worth noting that the SBU has been reported to have Russian-aligned influences.
The report says the presence of American accounts on the SBU's lists suggests that there may have been a lack of thorough vetting by the FBI or a knowledge of their domestic nature, yet the requests were still executed. The House Judiciary Committee suggested implementing more oversight and legislative reform for the FBI and social media in order to safeguard the free speech rights of Americans.
On February 15, 2023, the Committee on the Judiciary reportedly issued a subpoena to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube. This action was taken as part of the committee's investigation into the federal government's role in censoring lawful speech on social media platforms.
Click here for the latest news updates and to join in the conversation.The report says documents obtained in response to subpoenas have revealed that the FBI made requests to the world's largest social media platforms. These requests were made on behalf of a Ukrainian intelligence entity that had been compromised. In some instances, the report says the FBI directed these platforms to censor Americans who were engaging in speech that is protected by the Constitution.
According to the report, the collaboration involved the regular sharing of spreadsheets and other documents containing numerous accounts with social media platforms, with the intention of taking them down. During the process, the FBI and SBU allegedly identified genuine American accounts for removal, which reportedly included a verified U.S. State Department account and accounts belonging to American journalists. The report also says that the FBI allegedly provided legal support to Facebook and Instagram in order to facilitate the removal of accounts flagged by the SBU.
In July 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the head of the SBU due to concerns about potential Russian influence within the organization. During that period, the SBU encountered individuals with affiliations to Russia who were involved with the FBI.
The House Judiciary Committee believes the new information raises questions about the FBI's role in enabling the SBU's censorship regime and also raises concerns about the FBI's credibility, reliability, and competence as a law enforcement organization. The report documents an alleged significant level of coordination between the FBI, SBU, and American social media companies. And the House Judiciary Committee is still investigating the extent of the FBI's involvement with the SBU.
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