*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.
After the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016, Sarah Ullman felt called to action. The Los Angeles-based filmmaker is the founder of "One Vote at a Time," a Super PAC created to stop gun violence. She spends her days making free campaign ads for politicians who support gun control policies and are running in competitive districts.
A new documentary about campaign finance is coming to PBS on Monday. "Dark Money" explores the relationship between corporate spending and politics and how the laws have changed to allow more influence in the political arena. Kimberly Reed, the director and producer of the film, said that it is crucial to American democracy for its citizens to know who is trying to influence politics.
Robert Gaafar is one of the survivors of the Las Vegas shooting a year ago, and he is now partnering with Everytown to help launch a new election initiative. Gaafar said the progress on gun control in state and local races is heartening, even if the federal government remains unable or unwilling to do anything.
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After nearly two weeks of resistance, President Trump ordered an FBI investigation into allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, whose future seat on the nation's highest court had been suddenly thrown into doubt thanks to the wavering support of Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ).
In a dramatic reversal, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who said earlier Friday that he would vote "Yes" to move the Kavanaugh vote to the Senate floor, said at the afternoon hearing that he would only move forward with a Senate floor vote if there was an additional FBI investigation.
Shares of the social media giant dropped sharply after the company said it found hackers were able to gain control of as many as 50 million user accounts. Facebook's Product Management VP Guy Rosenberg said the attack affected the "View As" feature, which lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else.
Sophia Amoruso, founder and former CEO of Nasty Gal, sat down with Cheddar and talked about her approach to business and how she wants to empower other women to take risks in their professional lives. Her newest venture, Girlboss, curates information and resources for women about careers, money, and wellness.
Cheddar's J.D. Durkin videotaped the scene as a pair of sexual assault survivors angrily confronted Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in a Senate elevator after he indicated he would vote yes to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Shares of the EV maker fell by more than 14 percent, their biggest one-day drop since January 2012. The sell-off was prompted by Thursday's fraud charges filed by the SEC against CEO Elon Musk.
