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LEFT: Monika Bickert, Head of Global Policy Management at Facebook, Juniper Downs, Global Head of Public Policy and Government Relations at YouTube, and Nick Pickles, Chief Strategist at Twitter, swear in front of a Judiciary hearing on Tuesday on social media filtering practices. (Joshua Roberts / Bloomberg News)
Tuesday, Facebook and Google have sought to defend themselves against the accusations of Republican lawmakers who say that technology giants are censoring news and conservative opinions during a hearing of Congress that resulted in a political match. Legislators convened the nearly three-hour session before the House Judiciary Committee to explore the "filtering" practices of large social media companies, where a mix of powerful but secretive human reviews and algorithms examine the online content. to stifle an offensive speech that even the tech giants admit is not perfect.
But the GOP legislators led by the panel chair, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Have finally focused their efforts on what they perceive as bias against them. those on the political right – a charge that tech companies have repeatedly denied. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), For example, has accused Google of censoring the word "Jesus" in some search results. (He did not explain or give the company a chance to answer.) Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), meanwhile, asked Facebook why the controversial Gateway Pundit conspiracy site had seen a drop in traffic in recent months. (Facebook declined to address specific pages, but said it's still tinkering with the news feed to show users the content they want.)
The Questioning Line Enraged Democrats Committee, including Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.), Who reprimanded Republicans for pushing an "imaginary narrative" of censorship. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) Later called it a "silent audience". Many in the party have also called for Congress to focus on more pressing issues, including Russia's efforts to spread misinformation online. For some, this offered an opportunity to attack President Trump.
In response, however, technology companies have once again sought to emphasize their neutrality. "Our success as a business depends on making Twitter a safe space for free expression," said Nick Pickles, a political assistant who testified on behalf of Twitter
"We have a natural motivation and to long-term to ensure that our products' Juniper Downs, which deals with Google's policy issues for YouTube.
Tuesday's hearing revealed persistent frustrations among Democrats and Republicans with the giants of the technology and the way they monitor their platforms – and their pursuit.inability to address common concerns, such as spreading misinformation online.This was the second panel inquiry on the perceived conservative party, after a controversial session in April – riddled with falsities – featuring pro-Trump Diamond bloggers and Silk.
For years, conservatives have gone ervis errors the argument that they are censored online. Google, for example, has angered Republicans earlier this year after search results for the California GOP briefly reported a response from Wikipedia that linked the party to the Nazis. Twitter, meanwhile, had to apologize in 2017 after briefly preventing a congressman from promoting one of his abortion-related tweets. And Facebook's general manager, Mark Zuckerberg, even admitted at a recent hearing that Silicon Valley – where many technology companies feel at home – is a "very left-oriented place."
However Some GOP lawmakers seized criticism as a way to rally voters before the 2018 mid-term elections. Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Who could become Speaker of the House, had previously sought to highlight and collect Conservative prejudices through advertisements published last month on Facebook. one of the sites that he criticized. 19659011] Nevertheless, technology giants have taken the charges seriously and adapted their business practices. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, for his part, has met with prominent Conservatives to quell their fears of bias, the Washington Post reported. Facebook hired former Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) To review his practices.
Yet the leading Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee argued on Tuesday that there is no Conservative censorship in the first place
It's such an interesting audience, I think, motivated by a feeling of persecution on the part of Republicans and conservatives who, one way or another, are unfairly treated, "lamented the representative Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). "There is no evidence [that] that I saw or the majority was able to predict that there is any bias."
Instead, some Democrats sought to grill Facebook for not banning Infowars, the site founded by Alex Jones who peddled many conspiracy theories, including one that casts doubt on the victims of the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. Last week, Facebook executives said that Infowars did not "violate community standards."
Monika Bickert, Head of Global Business Policy Management, responded that Facebook was removing any content "contrary to our policies". at some point, we would also delete "a page or profile, without providing details".
In the midst of political theaters and heated exchanges, Republicans still threatened the technology industry. They have repeatedly raised the possibility that they could weaken some of the federal law that prevents online platforms from being held responsible for the content posted by their users.
The provision, known as Article 230, was adopted in 1996. "Today, there is almost nothing like the 1996 Internet" , said Goodlatte. "Congress must evaluate our laws to make sure they reach their goal."
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