Now that Republicans control the House of Representatives, they're preparing to grill technology giants over accusations of content censorship. The Wall Street Journal has learned that House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has subpoenaed the CEOs of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft for information on their content moderation methods. The leaders have until March 23rd to provide any communications between them and the federal government's executive branch on the subject.
Jordan's panel wants to know "how and to what extent" the federal government allegedly pressured and coordinated with companies to censor content. The requests include details about people responsible for shaping moderation policies as well as those who've talked to the executive branch. Like numerous Republican politicians, Jordan has long maintained that major tech companies censor conservative views under the guise of curbing hate speech and misinformation.
The representative notably didn't subpoena…
2023-02-15 15:46:41
Article from www.engadget.com
This week, officials from the House Judiciary Committee have summoned the chief executives of four of the world’s largest tech companies- Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google- to testify before the committee on the companies’ policies and practices surrounding content moderation. This hearing is part of an ongoing congressional investigation into tech companies’ roles in censorship, privacy, and third party moderation, and comes on the heels of recent legislation that puts the onus of moderation on the companies.
The committee has asked the CEOs to discuss the justification for, and interpretation of, the companies’ content moderation policies and their current practices for enforcing those policies, as well as the necessary criteria for a system of effective content moderation. Committee chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) has asserted that the responsible use of technology is critical to ensure an open and safe internet, and the committee will be asking tough questions of the companies in order to better understand their rationale for policies affecting online discourse and user behavior.
The witness list includes Apple’s Tim Cook, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Google’s Sundar Pichai. Although the CEOs were initially reluctant to testify publicly, the mounting evidence of their companies’ role in promoting biased content practices and industry-wide issues of transparency, among other concerns raised by the committee, has brought the need for clearer answers to the forefront.
The hearing is expected to delve into the details of moderation approaches that determine when, where and how platform content is presented as well as the algorithms used to filter and prioritize timelines and search engine results. Additionally, Congress is also looking to shed light on changes the companies have made to their content moderation systems and the ways their crackdown on fake news, hate speech and other content moderation issues has been enforced.
As the tech industry continues to become an increasingly influential player in our society, these hearings are of the utmost importance in helping Congress ensure transparency, fair and ethical practices and proper user protections. The CEOs’ testimony may provide valuable insights into how content moderation works at the highest level, with broad implications for the future regulation and maintenance of the internet. We look forward to the hearing with anticipation and are eager to understand more about the views of the tech giants on this highly important issue.