Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey are becoming familiar faces on Capitol Hill. On Tuesday, the social media bosses are scheduled to visit with senators to take questions about how they moderate content on their sites.
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing was called after Republicans demanded the CEOs explain why they limited the spread of a New York Post article that suggested unproven improprieties involving President-elect Joe Biden's son. (Biden representatives have challenged the article's content.) The social networks' actions raised questions about how they fact check political content.
The virtual hearing marks the second time Zuckerberg and Dorsey are to appear before lawmakers in less than a month. On Oct. 28, the executives, along with Google CEO Sundar Pichai, testified at a hearing on Section 230, a law that gives internet companies immunity for content posted by their users. That hearing strayed from its intended purpose, with senators challenging the trio on content moderation policies, including their responses to the New York Post story.
The new proceedings come as lawmakers ramp up scrutiny of Big Tech, a development that will likely continue under the Biden administration. Legislators and regulators are concerned over the power tech companies have and how it might ultimately harm consumers. Google faces a Department of Justice lawsuit that alleges the Alphabet subsidiary is a search monopoly. Rivals Apple, Amazon and Facebook are also the subjects of investigation. In July, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Zuckerberg and Pichai appeared virtually at a hearing before the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee. The subcommittee accused the tech giants of "abuses of monopoly power" in a 449-page report.
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