Government watchdog Judicial Watch sued the Department Homeland Security (DHS) Wednesday for allegedly failing to disclose documents related to its censorship activities.
The lawsuit stems from an unanswered December 2022 FOIA request for communications records between Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency (CISA) officials and social media platforms. The request sought information relating to activities revealed in the Twitter files, such as the “industry meetings” the FBI, DHS and other government agencies held with tech companies.
“There is an unholy conspiracy in the Biden administration to censor Americans in collusion with Big Tech,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “This new Judicial Watch lawsuit shows the censorship abuse is furthered by unlawful secrecy and cover-ups.”
3. But Twitter was more like a partner to government.
With other tech firms it held a regular “industry meeting” with FBI and DHS, and developed a formal system for receiving thousands of content reports from every corner of government: HHS, Treasury, NSA, even local police: pic.twitter.com/DgI954lge7
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) March 9, 2023
A March 9 Twitter files thread by journalist Matt Taibbi noted that officials came to meetings with Facebook, Twitter, and other companies ready with “spreadsheets of hundreds or thousands of account names for review.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: DHS Panel Courted Left-Wing Agents To Aid In ‘Misinformation’ Crackdown)
Judicial Watch’s FOIA requests communications from CISA Director Jen Easterly, Former Director Christopher Krebs, Former Senior Cybersecurity Advisor Matt Masterson, and Senior Cybersecurity Advisor Brian Scully.
It’s not the first lawsuit Judicial Watch has filed against the DHS. They sued in November and February for records relating to the Election Integrity Partnership, which worked with CISA and helped censor information online during the 2020 election.
The group has previously filed similar FOIA lawsuits against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
In March, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed for a preliminary injunction against top government officials to stop them from “colluding” with Big Tech in violation of the First Amendment, citing 1,432 facts uncovered from documents obtained through their lawsuit.
Documents recently obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation also reveal that a CISA subcommittee responsible for providing recommendations on combating misinformation during the 2022 midterm election enlisted the help of left-wing groups and individuals.
The DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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