GOP Rep. Gaetz requests probe on Facebook's Zuckerberg, alleging false statements
The Florida Republican says that Zuckerberg's assertion that Facebook does not engage in bias against conservatives has been proven false by Project Veritas
Rep. Matt Gaetz sent a letter Monday to Attorney General William Barr calling for him to investigate Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly making false statements during 2018 congressional testimony.
The Florida Republican alleges that during congressional testimony that year on April 10 and 11 Zuckerberg falsely asserted that his social media platform does not engage in anti-conservative bias.
Gaetz claims that undercover investigation group Project Veritas has shown that Facebook exhibits bias against conservatism.
"Facebook’s AI screening content is not politically neutral. Neither are the moderators hired to review content flagged by the AI program. This stands in opposition to Mr. Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony, and violates the “good faith” provision of Section 230(c)(2)(A) of the Communications Decency Act," Gaetz says in his letter.
"Accordingly, I respectfully refer Mr. Zuckerberg to the Department for an investigation of potential violations of 18 U.S.C. §§1001, 1505, and 1621 for materially false statements made to Congress while testifying under oath," Gaetz said in his request for a criminal referral.
Project Veritas founder and CEO James O'Keefe said in a statement posted on his organization's website: “I urge DOJ to act quickly and investigate Mark Zuckerberg before Americans vote in November.”