U.S. House Judiciary Committee subpoenas Apple over AI review concerns

The subpoena received by Apple describes it as an investigation into "the extent to which the executive branch coerced or colluded with artificial intelligence (AI) companies and other intermediaries to censor legitimate speech." It is further investigating after previously determining that the administration had repeatedly pressured online platforms and worked to "control artificial intelligence to suppress speech."

Apple, for its part, is one of the companies that has agreed to a "voluntary commitment" between July 2023 and July 2024 to reduce "harmful bias" in artificial intelligence.

An executive order issued by Biden in October 2023 requiring artificial intelligence companies to share how they train models and develop "dual-use base models" was also mentioned. The order also calls for the development of "consensus industry standards for the development and deployment of safe, reliable, and trustworthy AI systems" and directs the Justice Department to address algorithmic discrimination in AI.

In the view of the Judiciary Committee, this is paving the way for "direct government control of the artificial intelligence market." It then mentioned how some companies that have agreed to voluntary commitments have signed agreements with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to share access to new major models before and after their public release.

Additionally, the Biden-Harris administration is said to be attempting to coordinate AI regulatory efforts with governments in different countries and regions. For example, in April 2024, it pledged to work with the EU to "advance and strengthen interoperability between AI governance frameworks" with a view to "bringing the EU's AI regulatory backdoor into the United States."

Evidence requirements

The purpose of the subpoenas is to obtain documents from Apple and other technology companies that may support assertions about the former Democratic administration. This includes a long list of documents related to artificial intelligence and Apple's communications with governments.

It begins with all documents and communications from January 2020 to January 2025 discussing "the modification, deletion, suppression, restriction or reduction of circulation of the content, inputs or outputs of artificial intelligence models, training data sets, algorithms, systems or products."

This is said to include a number of subcategories of documents, primarily between Apple and the U.S. executive branch, but also documents and communications between Apple and foreign governments "cooperating with the United States."

It also requested "all such documents between Apple and any third party," as well as documents within Apple regarding discussions with the U.S. executive branch, foreign governments, or any third party. That covers nearly all of Apple’s communications on artificial intelligence in five years.

These documents are required to be submitted by March 27, 2025. The subpoena also maintains that it is a formal notice requiring the preservation of any further records and materials related to the matter.

recurring fears

The current Republican-led investigation into artificial intelligence is an attempt to prove that Big Tech is censoring conservative speech and views. The investigation is a direct attempt to challenge claims of technology censorship that Republican supporters say is happening.

This is not the first time for such actions. In 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a "Stop Big Tech Censorship" bill, ordering social media companies to notify users when they are banned and censored. DeSantis claimed that social media companies use "shadow banning to shape debate and control the flow of information," but somehow escape responsibility because they are seen as neutral platforms.

In 2018, Apple and other tech companies were sued by FreedomWatch, which sought to bring class action lawsuits against "all politically conservative organizations" and individuals who "experienced unlawful suppression and/or media censorship." The lawsuit directly accuses the tech companies of engaging in a "deliberate and intentional conspiracy to suppress politically conservative content."