A big tech company that deplatformed conservative groups agreed to turn over documents related to that decision just days after Senator Ted Cruz announced plans to obtain them through subpoena, the Texas Republican told The Daily Wire.
Cruz said Friday that Bonterra, a massive online service provider, will comply with his requests for information related to cancelled contracts with the Independent Women’s Forum and the Pennsylvania Family Institute. Bonterra, which helps nonprofits fundraise and manage operations, previously told Cruz it ended its contract with Independent Women’s Forum because it was anti-LGBT.
On Monday, Cruz, who leads the Senate Commerce Committee, said he planned to subpoena Bonterra for internal documents and communications related to its treatment of conservative companies. In response, Bonterra committed to producing the documents by March 19, Cruz’s office told The Daily Wire.
“Once I announced my intention to seek the Committee’s authorization for a subpoena, Bonterra quickly agreed to produce requested documents,” Cruz told The Daily Wire on Friday. “This is a victory for groups like the Independent Women’s Forum and the Pennsylvania Family Institute whose contracts were not renewed because of their beliefs.”
He added that the documents, internal communications, and communications with third parties “will help us better understand how tech companies weaponize contractual terms to deny service to conservatives.”
The desired documents include communications between Bonterra and any third parties that advised Bonterra on its “business ethics” provision or its anti-hate speech policy, a senior aide for the committee told The Daily Wire. The committee will also demand communications with third parties who flagged users for alleged violations, and documents that will help it identify accounts removed by Bonterra for hate speech.
Bonterra previously told Cruz that it ended its relationship with the Independent Women’s Forum because the organization, which opposes transgender ideology, “works to restrict the rights of the LGBTQ community. Bizarrely, it added that it does not focus on “positions of the organization” when making decisions about terms of service violations.
The Independent Women’s Forum is a conservative nonprofit that aims to “engage and inform women about how policy issues impact them and their loved ones.” It has emerged as one of the most prominent voices defending women’s sports from the invasion of transgender-identifying men.
Cruz said he would move “swiftly to compel” Bonterra if it failed “in any way to fulfill its obligation to the Committee.”