4 ms·

I may be out of the loop a bit, but do these "requests" have any real power? It seems like subpoenas would have been the appropriate legal instrument if they ne

I may be out of the loop a bit, but do these "requests" have any real power? It seems like subpoenas would have been the appropriate legal instrument if they needed to carry the full weight of Congress.

wobblyasp 5y ago
IANAL, but yes that's right as far as I understand it. But a request can very quickly become a demand
- cobrabyte 5y ago
  I have no dog in this particular fight, but if I were at the helm of any of these companies, I wouldn't willingly hand over my users' data without being lawfully required to do so. To do so would be an invasion of my users' privacy. If it's so essential to the government to invade the private conversations of a company's user base, they should stand by their claims by using subpoena powers. I believe they're hoping to avoid legal recourse by "requesting" rather than requiring.
azernik 5y ago
Generally the requests are a polite prelude to a subpoena. The subpoena process is a bit of a pain, so they'll skip it if the recipient is okay handing stuff over, but its presence is always felt.
ghastmaster 5y ago
Yes. It can result in a contempt charge, if the recipient does not comply. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempt_of_Congress https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempt_of_Congress
- cobrabyte 5y ago
  Reading the first couple of sentences, it looks like Contempt of Congress applies only if you ignore a subpoena. It doesn't appear that Congress used subpoena powers (I may be wrong in this assumption) for this request, and Gab's reply to their request for information was optional. Of course, Gab understands that to ignore the request altogether would have left them open to further harassment by the government, and they provided as little information as possible, but still complied with the request.
  - cguess 5y ago
    This sort of request is the nice way of saying that a subpoena is forthcoming, so don't you dare lose anything. If, in a month or two, the subpoena comes they can't respond with "oops! We had no idea we were supposed to keep those documents."
    - smaryjerry 5y ago
      The response is more saying, “we don’t review or classify misinformation at all so don’t ask us about how we moderate it.” Subpoena or not the response would be the same.
- masklinn 5y ago
  Contempt is in failure to respond to a subpoena. A subpoena is the risk if you don’t respond to a congressional request. So this is two steps removed from a potential contempt charge.
masklinn 5y ago
It’s not uncommon to start by asking nicely in case there can be an easy resolution. A subpoena is a much more brutal process and requirement. It’s like asking someone to stop pissing on the church wall instead of calling the police immediately.

wobblyasp 5y ago

IANAL, but yes that's right as far as I understand it. But a request can very quickly become a demand

cobrabyte 5y ago
I have no dog in this particular fight, but if I were at the helm of any of these companies, I wouldn't willingly hand over my users' data without being lawfully required to do so. To do so would be an invasion of my users' privacy. If it's so essential to the government to invade the private conversations of a company's user base, they should stand by their claims by using subpoena powers. I believe they're hoping to avoid legal recourse by "requesting" rather than requiring.

azernik 5y ago

Generally the requests are a polite prelude to a subpoena. The subpoena process is a bit of a pain, so they'll skip it if the recipient is okay handing stuff over, but its presence is always felt.

ghastmaster 5y ago

Yes. It can result in a contempt charge, if the recipient does not comply. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempt_of_Congress https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempt_of_Congress

cobrabyte 5y ago
Reading the first couple of sentences, it looks like Contempt of Congress applies only if you ignore a subpoena. It doesn't appear that Congress used subpoena powers (I may be wrong in this assumption) for this request, and Gab's reply to their request for information was optional. Of course, Gab understands that to ignore the request altogether would have left them open to further harassment by the government, and they provided as little information as possible, but still complied with the request.
- cguess 5y ago
  This sort of request is the nice way of saying that a subpoena is forthcoming, so don't you dare lose anything. If, in a month or two, the subpoena comes they can't respond with "oops! We had no idea we were supposed to keep those documents."
  - smaryjerry 5y ago
    The response is more saying, “we don’t review or classify misinformation at all so don’t ask us about how we moderate it.” Subpoena or not the response would be the same.
masklinn 5y ago
Contempt is in failure to respond to a subpoena. A subpoena is the risk if you don’t respond to a congressional request. So this is two steps removed from a potential contempt charge.

masklinn 5y ago

It’s not uncommon to start by asking nicely in case there can be an easy resolution. A subpoena is a much more brutal process and requirement. It’s like asking someone to stop pissing on the church wall instead of calling the police immediately.