Sen. Cruz, Commerce Committee Colleagues Want Big Tech To Preserve Documentary History of Hamas's Atrocities

Letter

Dear Ms. Yaccarino:

On October 7th, the world witnessed the largest mass murder of Jews in a single day since the
Holocaust. Israelis and nationals from more than thirty countries, including the United States,
have been kidnapped, tortured, and brutally executed by the Iranian-backed terrorist group
Hamas and its affiliated militant groups.

Many of the horrors perpetrated by Hamas have been documented in real time on social media
platforms, including by victims, the media, the Israeli government, and the terrorists themselves.
While steps should be taken to curb attempts by Hamas to weaponize social media for its own
ends, it is indisputable that social media platforms have already played a critical role in exposing
the international community to the genocidal atrocities committed against Israel. Much of this
content is graphic and violent, and under normal circumstances it might be removed under your
company's content policies.

I believe it is imperative that we preserve a full documentary history of Hamas's atrocities.
Ordinarily policies limiting the distribution of disturbing content might make sense, but videos
and images uploaded by soldiers, law enforcement, citizens, journalists, and those with real time
access to acts of terrorism need to be preserved to aid in prosecuting war crimes, intelligence
gathering, media reporting, and the historical record. The role of social media in documenting
war crimes and chronicling what happens in times of war is relatively new but highly
consequential. X has a responsibility not to permanently delete any of this content but to preserve
it in such a way that the public record and historical record can accurately document the horrific
atrocities being carried out.

It is important for Congress to understand your platform's approach to moderating content from
the Israel-Hamas war, including acts of terrorism carried out by Hamas. The Standing Rules of
the Senate provide the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation jurisdiction over
technology including to "review and study" technology "on a continuing basis."1 Therefore,

1 S. Rules XXV(1)(f), XXVI(8)(a)(2).

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please provide the documents requested below and written responses to the questions below no
later than November 3, 2023 and in accordance with the attached instructions, noting the
preservation instructions in particular.

Content Policies

1. Provide copies of all content policies2 relevant to the dissemination of content from the
Israel-Hamas War as of October 7, 2023, including but not limited to policies addressing
graphic violence, terrorism, hate speech, and manipulated media.

2. Describe all updates, if any, you have made to your content policies relevant to the IsraelHamas War since October 7, 2023.

3. Describe all public interest exceptions you have made, or are considering making, to your
content policies to permit content, entities, and accounts on your platform(s) that would
otherwise normally be removed, filtered, or subject to reduced distribution. Explain how you
plan to scale these policies to ensure they are evenly applied.

4. Describe any steps you have taken to protect the identity of victims, minors, and other
potentially vulnerable individuals who have been depicted in content on your platform(s)
from the Israel-Hamas War.

Preservation of Documentary Evidence of Terrorism

5. Describe how automated content moderation on your platform(s) has affected content from
the Israel-Hamas War since October 7, 2023.

a. How many pieces of content from the Israel-Hamas War have been removed
automatically by your systems (i.e., without any human review)?

b. For the content described in Question 5(a), provide a breakdown of the reasons for
the content's removal.

c. How many of the removals described in Question 5(a) were appealed?

d. How many of the appeals described in Question 5(c) have been reviewed?

e. How many of the appeals described in Question 5(c) have been granted?

f. For the content described in Question 5(a), do you plan to conduct a policy review of
the content to ensure that content in the public interest was not erroneously removed
from your platform(s)?

2 For the purposes of this request, "content policies" means any policies, guidance, or product logic designed to remove, filter, reduce distribution of, boost distribution of, or append third party information to content, entities, or accounts.

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6. Describe your policies and procedures for preserving content, even if that content is
ultimately removed from your platform(s), from the Israel-Hamas War, particularly with
respect to content that documents criminal activity, such as terrorism, or that could be
integral to identifying victims and hostages.

7. Will you allow investigators to view preserved content pursuant to a lawfully executed
warrant or other lawful demand related to the investigation of acts of terrorism?
Legal Obligations

8. Describe how international laws requiring certain content moderation, such as the European
Union's Digital Services Act, have affected your decisions about what content from the
Israel-Hamas War to allow or remove from your platform(s).

a. What specific rules and regulations have required you to take down or moderate more
content than you may have otherwise if it were not for these laws?

b. How would your decisions to remove content pursuant to international laws differ if
you faced a legal obligation in the United States to not remove content protected by
the First Amendment?

9. Describe how you are complying with current sanctions programs that require the blocking
of any property, or interests in the property of, Hamas in the United States. Specifically,
describe how you prevent your advertising, monetization, and fundraising tools from being
used to provide material support to Hamas.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Source