House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) is fighting censorship by a corporate cabal he alleges is “colluding to demonetize conservative platforms and voices,” including Breitbart News.
The Judiciary Committee sent letters Tuesday to chief executive officers of five member companies of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media’s (GARM) Steer Team requesting documents and communications pertinent to its alleged conservative censorship.
GARM is an initiative of the powerful World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), which, according to its website, “represents over 150 of the world’s biggest brands and more than 60 national advertiser associations worldwide.” GARM was established in 2019 in Cannes, France – home of the film festival frequented by ultra-liberal Hollywood jet set elites – “to address the challenge of harmful content on digital media platforms and its monetization via advertising.”
But the Judiciary Committee says WFA through GARM “may be acting inconsistent with U.S. antitrust laws and congressional intent by coordinating GARM members’ efforts to demonetize and eliminate disfavored content online.” Its letter to five members of the steering committee – Diageo, GroupM, Mars, Incorporated, The Procter & Gamble Company, and Unilever –requests “documents and communications as the Committee continues its oversight of the adequacy and enforcement of U.S. antitrust law.”
Jordan’s committee says it has obtained evidence that GARM members, led by Steer Team members, are colluding to demonetize conservative platforms and voices – singling out Breitbart News, Fox News, and The Daily Wire as among those impacted.
According to the letters, “This coordination does not always revolve around ‘brand safety’ and ‘harmful’ content as GARM publicly claims, but instead the desire to censor conservative and other views that GARM members disfavor.” It says that communications the committee has reviewed directly connect each of the five companies with these efforts.
The letter describes how GARM’s efforts work and why they could be illegal:
Under the Sherman Act, these types of agreements may be illegal, and they require considering the adequacy of current law. The actions are concerning and warrant oversight because the harm that GARM causes to consumers is severe. For example, content creators lose revenue as ‘advertising investment is steered away from’ content that GARM disfavors. Less content is then available as platforms remove disfavored material, and as creators and publishers lose income.
The letter asks for a response by April 10, 2024. Among the information requested by the committee are documents and communications referring or relating to conservative media outlets, including Breitbart News.
A committee spokesman said that “everything is on the table as to what happens next” if the companies refuse to comply, which could include subpoenas and congressional hearings.
The Judiciary Committee has been investigating this matter for more than a year. It initially requested information from GARM and WFA in March 2023. It subpoenaed both organizations in May 2023 after they failed to produce any documents.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
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