JAKARTA - Leaders on the US House Oversight Committee are demanding that major social media platforms quickly tackle a wave of online threats to law enforcement, after the FBI searched former US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida last week.
On Friday, August 19, lawmakers sent letters to eight major social media companies demanding information detailing the number of threats to law enforcement made on their platforms in recent weeks.
The committee also posed its questions to leading mainstream platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, but also wrote to far-right competitors such as Gab, GETTR, Rumble, and Trump's own Truth Social.
In the letter, lawmakers asked for details on how each platform identified and responded to these online threats. They also request a copy of any advertisement "shown alongside the post" that is reported or targeted to law enforcement officials.
Lawmakers cited several posts made by users on Twitter and Truth Social that “call for civil war and violence against law enforcement.” They also note posts from Republican representatives such as Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene demanding Congress "defund" or "destroy" the "corrupt FBI."
"We are concerned that the reckless remarks by the former President and Republican Congressman have unleashed a flood of violent threats on social media that have resulted in at least one death and posed a danger to law enforcement officers across the United States," the statement said. .
"We urge you to take immediate action to address any threats of violence against law enforcement that arise on your corporate platform," they said.
The committee's letters come just a week after federal authorities raised the alarm about the growing number of online threats being made against law enforcement. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, sharing intelligence bulletins with state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials across the country, last Friday highlighted the spike.
The bulletin said the threats were carried out "primarily online and across multiple platforms, including social media sites, web forums, video-sharing platforms and drawing boards."
The FBI and DHS warn that an increase in online threats could contribute to real-world violence against law enforcement officers. In the bulletin, authorities highlight worrying posts made by Truth Social users shortly after the search that then attempted to break into the FBI's field offices in Cincinnati, Ohio last week.
"The committee strongly supports the First Amendment right of all Americans to speak out about their government's actions and law enforcement issues, including on social media platforms," the lawmaker wrote. "However, threats and incitement to lethal violence are unacceptable and against the law."
Trump himself continues to lash out at the FBI on Truth Social, accusing officials of planting evidence and other unlawful behavior. After being kicked off most of the major social media platforms following the January 6 attacks on the Capitol last year, Trump launched the platform, whose downloads have jumped nearly 550 percent since searches, according to a new report from Vice last Friday.
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