*By Michael Teich*
Democrats led by Senator Mark Warner are stepping up the charge against big tech, but they may not accomplish anything unless the party makes major gains in the midterm elections, according to Axios reporter David McCabe.
Disinformation and privacy concerns on social media platforms have become a major concern of many lawmakers after Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election was uncovered.
"It's not hugely surprising to see Democrats engaging on the disinformation piece because of the concerns about 2016," McCabe said Tuesday in an interview with Cheddar.
Facebook has spent nearly two years working to counter political misinformation campaigns on its platform. The company announced Tuesday it found and removed 32 pages and accounts linked to an influence campaign on Facebook and Instagram. Warner said in a statement Tuesday that "the Kremlin continues to exploit platforms like Facebook to sow division and spread disinformation."
Before Facebook's announcement, McCabe had obtained Warner's policy papers, which propose 20 ways to address disinformation online, protect user privacy, and encourage greater competition.
McCabe said he's skeptical that Warner's proposals can be enacted in the near-term. Despite a growing tech-lash and heightened concerns over data privacy that resulted from Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, the issues are not priorities for Democrats or Republicans.
"Going into midterms, this hasn’t proven to be a big election issue," McCabe said before Facebook's latest revelation.
If Democrats can shift party control of Congress in November, they may be able to get enough momentum behind Warner's ideas, said McCabe. But even if they do well in midterms, the Democrats will have to go up against big tech's robust lobbying efforts. McCabe said the Democrats' intentions, as outlined by Warner, may prompt tech companies to spend even more on lobbying lawmakers in Washington.
In September, legislators will question social media executives including Twitter's Jack Dorsey in order to evaluate how government regulations might prevent the spread of misinformation and propaganda on social platforms.
For more on this, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/mark-warners-uphill-battle-against-big-tech).
Cloud-based AI-powered writing assistant Grammarly recently raised $200 million in a funding round that values the company at $13 billion. The funding will be used to help Grammarly achieve its goal of becoming more ubiquitous, as the company says it wants to be the go-to writing assistant for wherever people type. Grammarly also says it aims to solve what it calls one of the most critical problems facing people and businesses today -- ineffective communication. Grammarly global head of product Rahul Roy-Chowdhury joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The Competition and Markets Authority in the UK moved to block Facebook parent company Meta from acquiring the image sharing platform Giphy after saying advertisers and consumers would be adversely impacted. Hatem Dhiab, managing partner at Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment, joined Cheddar to break down the decision and noted that the CMA's order could also halt other big tech firms from making similar purchases in the future. "I think this is going to be true for Facebook, it's going to happen for other big tech companies — Amazon, perhaps Google, so it's interesting that the UK is starting this wave," he said.
Namita Dhallan, Chief Product Officer at Brightcove, joins Cheddar to discuss how artificial intelligence and machine learning are creating room for more personalization in video, and how these technologies are shaping the future of the video tech industry.
NASA indefinitely delayed a spacewalk to repair an ISS antenna, citing concerns about space debris. It was unclear if the warning from the space agency to astronauts aboard the ISS was related to the recent destruction of a non-functioning Russian satellite.
Jack Dorsey has officially stepped down as CEO of Twitter.
In a statement -- he says he is leaving because the company is ready to move on from its founders. Tom Morton, Global Chief Strategy Officer, R/GA joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the implications of the move.
Mike Proulx, VP and research director at Forrester, joined Cheddar to talk about what Jack Dorsey's departure from Twitter as CEO means for the social media platform. He noted that while Dorsey had been the face of the company, "he's been a part-time CEO" since also taking on the leadership position at Square. Stepping down from leading Twitter allows his replacement Parag Agrawal, the former CTO, to be a dedicated leader of the company. However, Proulx noted that Agrawal faces headwinds on policy and political ramifications that will come with the job.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority blocked Facebook parent company Meta's acquisition of the image sharing platform Giphy, stating that the deal would harm UK advertisers and social media users. Meta responded and said that it is considering an appeal.
Jill and Carlo cover the latest developments with the Omicron variant that are spooking markets once again. Twitter's @Jack is leaving, SCOTUS takes up abortion rights and the world has a brand new republic.
