Once seen by politicians as a tool to tackle issues, Capitol Hill is finding out that technology could be a double-edged sword with unintended consequences. Cecilia Kang, National Technology Correspondent at The New York Times, joined to take a closer look at the crossroads between politics and Silicon Valley. Kang discussed why the Democrats became sour on Silicon Valley. She said the 2016 election was the start of a journey for the Democratic party to evaluate the role of technology companies in the spread of information. Kang added that they wanted to investigate whether social media companies were good or potentially harmful for democracy. When the shock wore off from the election results, they wanted to look into what was behind the outcome. Are Democrats just trying to find something else to blame for election results they aren’t happy with? Kang pointed out that social media companies themselves have acknowledged that they did play a role in the election. This is evident in the newsfeed algorithm changes implemented by Facebook. The company is now placing a heavier emphasis on content from friends and family opposed to content from publishers.

Share:
More In Business
Tesla’s profit fell in third quarter even as sales rose
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
Load More