*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).
Chicago-based cannabis company Cresco Labs unveiled a new dispensary and retail cannabis shop concept on Monday. Called Sunnyside, the concept emphasizes health and wellness and aims to create an accessible, immersive retail environment that pushes Cresco along on its mission of creating a nationally-recognizable cannabis brand.
Cheddar spoke to Twitter's head of global operations and emerging businesses Yannis Dosios after the social media platform shared strong earnings with the number of monetizable daily active users going up.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
The Department of Justice has required that Sprint divest its prepaid division to Dish in a move worth about $1.4 billion. Sprint and T-Mobile must also make 200,000 cell sites available to that provider as well.
Digital health company Livongo had a successful public debut Thursday on the Nasdaq. It's the latest in a wave of digital health companies entering the public markets. Hemant Taneja, managing director at General Catalyst, joins Cheddar to discuss.
Shares of CannTrust surged 15 percent on Friday after the Canadian cannabis company announced it terminated CEO Peter Aceto in the midst of regulatory drama that has plundered the company's stock value. Jefferies' analyst Ryan Tomkins predicted the management shuffle in a Wednesday note, which called management's positions "untenable."
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, July 26, 2019.
E-commerce giant Amazon reported earnings per share of $5.22 on revenue of $63.4 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected EPS of $5.57 on revenue of $62.48 billion.
Smart glass, which comes with its own IP address, is being installed in office buildings around the country. Rao Mulpuri, CEO of View, which makes smart glass, joined Cheddar to discuss how his company’s windows can actually improve worker productivity.
Amid ongoing resistance from employees about Microsoft’s contracts with the U.S. military, CEO Satya Nadella issued a broad defense this week of the company’s work with the U.S government and said America’s democratic process serves as a key check on the deployment of new technology.
