The January 6 attack at our nation’s Capitol was deliberate and coordinated. Individuals who broke the law must be held accountable, but we cannot ignore that social media platforms, like Gab, may well bear a measure of criminal responsibility for the attack as well. To the extent Gab intentionally served as a forum for people to plan, coordinate, engage in or otherwise facilitate the criminal activity that took place on January 6, a Department of Justice investigation is warranted. The platform—as well as any other tech platform that may have undertaken or facilitated such actions—must be held accountable. To the extent Gab executives were aware and intended for the platform to be used to carry out violations of federal criminal law, such individuals must also be held accountable. (…) We need to determine whether white supremacist and extremist rioters used Gab’s services to plan their attack and communicate during the ongoing illegal activities of January 6. Through force, rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol Building to obstruct Congress’ proceeding to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. These individuals engaged in several clear violations of federal criminal law. Criminal investigations should not be entered into lightly, particularly with regard to online platforms where the values of free speech rightly hold great sway. There is a considerable amount of hateful content online that should be removed by platforms under appropriate content moderation policies but does not rise to a level warranting a criminal investigation. Acknowledging that criminal investigations at times have been weaponized in this country to suppress free speech and to subvert social justice movements, ADL does not lightly call for such an investigation. But those who planned and used violence, storming the Capitol and seeking to stop certification of a legitimate election, were not engaged in constitutionally protected activity. They were engaged in dangerous criminal activity. Their actions predictably and horribly led to death, and if a platform intentionally facilitated such unlawful conduct it may itself have engaged in criminal acts for which it should be held accountable. That is what must be determined.
via adl: Open Letter to the U.S. Department of Justice: ADL Calls for a Criminal Investigation of Gab