Apple, Meta, Elon Musk’s companies reportedly in the crosshairs of congressional investigation
After a Democratic sweep of the U.S. midterm elections, big tech firms are bracing for investigations.
Over the past two years, Apple, Meta, and Elon Musk's companies have reportedly aligned themselves with the Trump administration, which has taken a hands-off approach to tech regulation. This is likely to change following the recent Democratic victory in the U.S. midterm elections. Some of these tech giants are reportedly preparing for an "investigative blitz" according to Washington Post sources, which include congressional staffers, lawyers, and lobbyists.
The investigation targets are said to include Apple, Meta, and Elon Musk's companies. Wall Street is anticipating congressional actions, with tech stocks and major indexes experiencing a sharp drop on Thursday due to warnings from Democratic senators Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey.
On election night, the incoming House Oversight Committee chairman advised, "Lawyer up." Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey expressed the magnitude of potential subpoenas with a quip, "They are going to need to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we’ll be printing."
The investigations are expected to examine various aspects, such as the Trump White House utilizing Grok to plan the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. Additionally, they will look into Meta's practice of requiring local governments to sign NDAs for data center construction, as well as Apple's relationship to tracking apps used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Written by urgent.news from Mashable's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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