On Wednesday, the leaders of Facebook, Google, and Twitter will testify on Capitol Hill in front of a subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee. Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Jack Dorsey will all face questions over their companies' use of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from being held legally accountable for content published by their users.
"One of the things I think they need to hear from us that we are fully aware that the American people no longer trust big tech," Committee member Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) told Cheddar.
Blackburn has proposed several changes to clarify and modify Section 230, which has been a subject of controversy since the president's executive order in May. That executive order came after Twitter flagged one of the president's tweets for being misleading and called for the FCC to regulate online censorship.
"We would be more specific on who can use the liability protections in 230, how it can be applied, and when it can be applied," said Blackburn. Her changes would also specify who qualifies as a "content creator" and would aim to protect those users, rather than the platforms.
Despite bipartisan agreement that Section 230 needs reform, Democrats and Republicans do not agree on just how to change it. The Democrats aren't on board with the GOP bill that would reign in a company's ability to flag and censor misinformation.
The tech industry, for its part, has said any changes to Section 230 would effectively end free speech online. They argue that without the protection it offers, platforms actually would have to take a stricter approach to flagging, fact-checking, and censoring.
President Joe Biden is using his State of the Union address Tuesday night to call on Republicans to work with him to “finish the job” of rebuilding the economy and uniting the nation as he seeks to overcome pessimism in the country and navigate political divisions in Washington.
U.S. officials say efforts ordered by President Joe Biden to strengthen defenses against Chinese espionage helped identify last week’s spy balloon — and determine that similar flights were conducted at multiple points during the Trump administration.
Control of Disney's Orlando area theme parks may soon go to a board chosen by Governor Ron DeSantis. Republican lawmakers unveil the bill that would give Republicans authority over the state's largest employer.
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Republicans said President Joe Biden allowed China to spy on the U.S. by not shooting the balloon down sooner while Democrats said similar incursions happened during the Trump administration.
