CEOs of Discord, Other Online Forums Ordered To Appear at House Oversight ‘Radicalization’ Hearing

The heads of some popular online forums are being asked to testify at a House Oversight Committee hearing on the “radicalization of online forum users” after the assassination of Charlie Kirk.The chairman of the committee, Congressman James Comer, sent a letter to the top officers of Discord, Twitch, Reddit, and Valve, which operates Steam, to testify at an October 8 hearing.Mr. Comer says the hearing will include evidence of instances of open incitement to commit politically motivated acts found on the forums.“The politically motivated assassination of Charlie Kirk claimed the life of a husband, father, and American patriot,” Mr. Comer said in announcing the hearing. “In the wake of this tragedy, and amid other acts of politically motivated violence, Congress has a duty to oversee the online platforms that radicals have used to advance political violence.”Mr. Comer says the CEOs need to explain what actions they will take to ensure their platforms are not exploited for “nefarious purposes.”The hearing comes after the FBI director, Kash Patel, disclosed this week that the bureau is investigating nearly two-dozen people involved with a Discord chat after Kirk was fatally shot during an appearance on the campus of Utah Valley University.Suspected gunman Tyler Robinson reportedly confessed to members of the chat shortly before he turned himself in to law enforcement.“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all. It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this,” reads the message from a Discord account belonging to Mr. Robinson, which was first reported by the Washington Post.Three friends reportedly confronted Mr. Robinson on the messaging platform about FBI photos showing the shooter’s resemblance to him, and he didn’t deny it, law enforcement sources said.The FBI is also reportedly investigating social media posts by suspected transgender users who seemed to predict Kirk’s killing as much as a month in advance.Mr. Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, says the administration is looking at ways to “uproot and dismantle” non-governmental networks that he believes are responsible for “organized riots, the organized street violence, [and] the organized campaigns of dehumanization,” among other things.Attorney General Pam Bondi said this week that the Department of Justice can prosecute individuals for “hate speech” in the wake of the assassination. After receiving blowback for her remarks, Ms. Bondi claimed that the DOJ would only go after those whose speech “crosses the line into threats of violence.”

CEOs of Discord, Other Online Forums Ordered To Appear at House Oversight ‘Radicalization’ Hearing

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