the question that dislodged the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter and Google

“When I ask a ‘yes-no’ question, I’m looking for a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’, so respond appropriately“. The slogan sounded like a school test, but it was addressed to three of the richest and most powerful people in the world: Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and Sundar Pichai, CEOs of Facebook, Twitter and Google.. And the only one who responded to the slogan was the head of Twitter.

Member of the House of Representatives Michael Doyle drew the question during the hearing during which the three companies are to give explanations on thedisinformation and hate speech, more and more frequent on social networks.

Zuckerberg dodged the question. But Doyle did not let him pass and counterattacked: “He does not answer, yes or no,” he insisted. The founder of Facebook insisted that the responsibility of his company is “Building efficient systems”, but he couldn’t develop his argument.

Pichai, from Google, he also answered evasively.

It was Twitter’s Jack Dorsey who not only responded, but also voiced an idea to which Doyle agreed: “Yes [somos responsables], we need to take broader considerations, it’s not just about the technology platforms we use ”.

“Thanks, I’m okay with that,” Doyle closed.

The session started off very “choppy”. Various members of Congress have pointed out the responsibilities of social media in hate speech, disinformation and even grooming cases and the lack of security that there is online for minors.

Discussions on current affairs vaccines against the coronavirus. The Hearing Officer used the same type of question: he asked them to answer yes or no.

“Do you think they are effective?Doyle asked, to an almost unanimous response from CEOs who indicated that the question had nothing to do with the public, despite the fact that they all answered yes.

The question was related to the immense amount of messages with disinformation on these social networks.

The issue comes a week after Facebook and Instagram announced new measures to tackle misinformation regarding the Covid vaccination, as the company admitted the misinformation was out of control.

In fact, Facebook has even partnered with Children’s Hospital Boston in the US to help people identify nearby places to get vaccinated, including hours of operation, contact details, and links to make an appointment. you to get vaccinated.

Section 230, key to the audience

The CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter testify this Thursday before the United States Congress on disinformation, following a tense election in the United States, the storming of the Capitol and the rise of Joe Biden to the presidency. With a clear objective: to defend, once again, article 230 of an administration which seems determined to fight them.

The hearing, entitled “Nation of disinformation: the role of social networks in the promotion of extremism and disinformation“Is done remotely. It will be the fourth for Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey since last July, and the third for Google’s Sundar Pichai.

Esta ley fue creada in 1996 y regula y protected a las compañías de internet de responsilidades legales: “Ningún proveedor o usuario de un servicio de ordenadores interactivo deberá ser tratado como el publicador o emisor de ninguna información de otro proveedor de contenido informativo” the law.

This gives Big Tech two advantages: First, it exempts them from what users post on their platforms. For example, if anti-Semitic or racist content is published, the law states that the company is not responsible for this content.

But it also gives them the freedom to unsubscribe from content: that’s what they are asked to do. Greater intervention in what is climbed, so that anarchy does not reign.

The session therefore put Big Tech on the ropes, from which for this time the company founded by Jeff Bezos, Amazon, escaped.

The public, live