Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) set the combative tone for a congressional hearing featuring testimony from the CEOs of tech giants Facebook, Twitter, and Google parent Alphabet. The hearing focused on whether the platforms have enough oversight.
“Your business model itself has become the problem,” said Pallone, the chairman of the committee that summoned the business leaders.
Live coverage: Rep. Frank Pallone tells tech executives: “Your business model itself has become the problem” https://t.co/IzlHIiCejQ
— WSJ Politics (@WSJPolitics) March 25, 2021
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushed back on the idea that his social media platform creates polarization and extremism. “The division we see today is the result of a political and media environment that drives people apart,” Zuckerberg said.
He added that Facebook isn’t responsible for the January 6th attack – Donald Trump is. “I believe that the former president should be responsible for his words and that the people who broke the law should be responsible for their actions,” Zuckerberg said in his opening statement.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey took a different, more candid approach. Rep. Mike Doyle, (D-PA) asked each tech leader if their company had contributed to the spread of misinformation and the planning of the deadly insurrection. Dorsey answered, “Yes, but you also have to take into consideration the broader ecosystem. It’s not just about the technological systems that we use.”
Rep. Mike Doyle, D-PA, asks Zuckerberg, Pichai, and Dorsey point-blank whether they accept any amount of responsibility for what happened on Jan. 6. Refuses to accept any answer except "yes" or "no."
Zuckerberg and Pichai refuse to give a straight answer. Dorsey says yes. pic.twitter.com/EcpoFlsVkG
— Will Oremus (@WillOremus) March 25, 2021
Later, Zuckerberg seemed to walk back his defense of Facebook’s role in the January 6th insurrection, saying “Certainly there was content on our services. From that perspective, I think there’s further work that we need to do.”
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle peppered the tech giants with hostile questions. The Washington Post writes:
Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) raised concerns about cyber bullying, child porn and negative effects social media can have on children. He raised concerns about news reports that Facebook is building a version of Instagram specifically for children under the age of 13.
“Big Tech is handing our children a lit cigarette and hoping they stay addicted for life,” Johnson said.
Later on Pallone told Facebook’s Zuckerberg and Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai (watch above) “You definitely give the impression that you don’t think that you are actively in any way promoting this misinformation and extremism,” he said, before adding:
“You’re not passive bystanders – you are not nonprofits or religious organizations that are trying to do a good job for humanity – you’re making money. The point we’re trying to make today is that when you spread misinformation, when extremists are actively promoted and amplified, you do it because you make more money.”