A new hearing on network disinformation has been called by the House Energy and Commerce Committee to include testimonies from Facebook, Google, and Twitter. The hearing, scheduled for March 25, will be a joint effort by the subcommittee on Information and Technology and the subcommittee on Consumer Security and Commerce.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, CEO Sundar Pichai of Google, and CEO Jack Dorsey of Twitter are all set to testify.
"This hearing will continue the work of the Committee to hold online platforms accountable for the increasing increase in misinformation and disinformation," the committee chairs said in a joint statement. For much too long, big tech has failed to realize the position it has played in fostering its online audiences and elevating clearly false knowledge. Self-regulation by industry has failed. We must begin the process of shifting incentives for social media platforms to permit misinformation and disinformation to be enabled and even promoted.
Dorsey and Zuckerberg were previously called before Congress in November, for the Senate Judiciary’s impromptu hearing on moderation and misinformation labeling. However, this will be the first hearing they have attended since the January 6th attack on the US Capitol and the various deplatforming efforts that followed. All three companies have since removed former President Donald Trump from their platforms (in Google’s case, through YouTube), actions that remain deeply controversial among Republicans.
Source The Verge
Comments