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.
Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves won reelection on Tuesday, while Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to an abortion and other forms of reproductive health care. In Virginia, Democrats swept legislative elections in a blow to GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The House has voted to censure Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan for her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war.
Voters around the U.S. are heading to the polls for elections with Ohio having abortion on the ballot.
A Jewish man in California has died after a confrontation during dueling protests over the Israel-Hamas war, and police said Tuesday they had identified a suspect who called 911 after the altercation.
More than 40% of American adults are considered obese, yet the medications many take are rarely tested in bigger bodies.
The U.S. attorney leading the Hunter Biden investigation appeared before Congress Tuesday.
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a case revolving around Second Amendment rights. The Biden administration is appealing a ruling that struck down a federal law that bans a person subject to a domestic violence protective order from possessing a firearm.
The Air Force is asking Congress to restrict further construction of the towering wind turbines that have edged closer to its nuclear missile sites in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska and Colorado.
Voters around the U.S. are heading to the polls Tuesday and some races could have major implications for how things turn out in the presidential election next year.
Donald Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, is being sued by his book publisher for breach of contract.
