*By Carlo Versano*
Google is "missing an opportunity" by not sending a top official to Capitol Hill next week to testify on election interference and censorship, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin on Wednesday.
Facebook and Twitter are both sending C-Suite executives ー COO Sheryl Sandberg and CEO Jack Dorsey, respectively ー to testify in front of both chambers on Sept. 5.
So far, Google has said it will only dispatch its general counsel, Kent Walker.
"We need policy makers, not simply their lawyers," Warner said.
The heads of the top social and web platforms will head to the Hill to answer questions about how they are combating misinformation campaigns from state actors like Russia and Iran ahead of the midterm elections. Additionally, they are expected to face pointed questions about censorship ー a topic that President Trump has been pushing, most recently on Wednesday afternoon when he told reporters, "I think they treat Republicans and conservatives very unfairly" and such handling "may not be legal."
That echoes the sentiment of several Trump tweets Tuesday which suggested that Google News technology suppressed conservative views. Economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the White House would look into the matter, but many questioned Trump's statements on their face.
"The president doesn't really understand how search algorithms work," Warner said, noting that content is ranked in searches as a result of computer calculations, not human action.
The last time officials from Facebook, Twitter, and Google testified together ー last November on the topic of Russian hacking ー the reaction from lawmakers was largely negative. Since then, each company has shown a more proactive approach to the policing of their platforms.
Warner said he hopes next week's hearings will be forward-looking. "We want to look at solution sets" for these complex problems, he said.
The Federal Reserve is holding steady on the dovish policy stance that it's maintained since the beginning of the pandemic but not without a hat-tip to those worried about rising inflation.
Just 40 years ago, New York City's Times Square was a very different place: crime-ridden and adult theaters as the main source of entertainment. Cheddar explains how it went from this to one of the top tourist attractions in the world.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed in a “constructive” summit to return their ambassadors to their posts and to begin consultations to replace the last remaining treaty between the two countries limiting nuclear weapons.
Joe Biden has arrived in the summit city of Geneva ahead of what will be the most-watched part of his first trip abroad as president: talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 has topped 600,000, even as the vaccination drive has slashed daily cases and deaths and allowed the country to emerge from the gloom.
MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist known for her impromptu multi-billion dollar donations to charities and racial equity causes, announced Tuesday that she has given $2.7 billion to 286 organizations.
A French court has ordered home furnishings giant Ikea to pay more than $1.3 million in fines and damages Tuesday over a campaign to spy on union representatives, employees and some unhappy customers in France.
Retail sales fell in May, dragged down by a decline in auto sales and a shift by Americans to spend more on vacations and other services instead of goods.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that the next planned relaxation of coronavirus restrictions in England will be delayed by four weeks until July 19, as a result of the spread of the delta variant.
J&J Contamination, New Israeli Government, Djokovic wins. Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Monday, June 14, 2021:
