WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chief executives of Twitter and Google defended a law protecting internet companies before a U. S. Senate panel on Wednesday, while Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg struggled to connect virtually, bringing the hearing to a brief halt.
The topic of reforming the law has split U. S. lawmakers on ways to hold Big Tech accountable for how they moderate content on their platforms and shape political discourse.
Twitter Inc’s Jack Dorsey and Google’s Sundar Pichai told the committee that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act - which protects companies from liability over content posted by users - is crucial to free expression on the internet.
Twitter’s Dorsey warned the committee that eroding the foundation of Section 230 could significantly hurt how people communicate online. Pichai said the company operates without political bias and that doing otherwise would be against its business interests.
The committee was unable to establish contact with Facebook Inc’s Zuckerberg and declared a short recess. He appeared shortly after and said: “I was having a hard time connecting myself.”
Zuckerberg further said he supports changing the law but also warned that tech platforms are likely to censor more to avoid legal risks if Section 230 is repealed.
All three CEOs agreed the companies should be held liable if the platforms act as a publisher.
Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the committee, said that the liability shield has protected companies from “potentially ruinous lawsuits”. “But it has also given these internet platforms the ability to control, stifle, and even censor content in whatever manner meets their respective standards. The time has come for that free pass to end,” he said.
Wicker also criticized the companies’ decision to block stories from the New York Post that made claims about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son. He and other senators such as Cory Gardner went after Twitter for not taking down twee... (Read more)
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