*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.
A full transcript of President Trump's statement from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House on Monday morning addressing the mass shootings that took place over the weekend.
President Trump denounced white supremacy and called for a bipartisan effort to combat gun violence on Monday, two days after back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio killed nearly 30 people and shocked the nation. He did not propose any major overhaul to gun control legislation.
President Trump announced a deal with the European Union on Friday that will nearly triple the amount of U.S. beef exported to Europe in the coming years. The hike in U.S. beef exports to the EU will boost the industry’s sales in Europe from $150 million to an estimated $420 million annually.
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.
Stock markets worldwide tumbled on Friday following President Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will impose tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports. Trade groups across industries also came out in fierce opposition to the move, which is the latest escalation in the now years-long trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
The U.S. is escalating the enduring trade war with China with a new round of 10 percent tariffs that will be imposed on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports, President Trump announced Thursday.
The candidate from Hawaii doubled-down on her criticism of the California Senator regarding her record on criminal justice policies like the death penalty and marijuana prosecution.
On Thursday, four major progressive groups announced they will team up this month to use their collective force to put more pressure on lawmakers to open formal impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, August 1, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, August 1, 2019.
