*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.
In an election year when a record number of women are running for Congress, one of New York's two Democratic Senators says women voices ー and their votes ー "couldn't be more important." Senator Gillibrand also told Cheddar's Hope King that women should lead the opposition to Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court.
These are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, Aug. 10.
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
Allegations that Wilbur Ross stole millions from colleagues and employees may not cost him his job as Secretary of Commerce, says Dan Alexander, the Forbes writer who reported on Ross's business dealings. "I don't see him as somebody who is likely to step down because of embarrassment or anything like that," Alexander says.
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Rick Wilson, GOP strategist and author of "Everything Trump Touches Dies," believes the Democratic Party could have a solid midterm election season. An endorsement by Trump for Republican primary candidate is "magic," he said. But in a general election, "it's a boat anchor around your neck in deep, deep waters."
Rep. Darren Soto of Florida says Republicans are running a campaign "on fear and on division" because President Trump's policies have failed to address voters' economic insecurities. GOP candidates pushing xenophobic immigration policies are trying to "scare people to the ballot box," Soto says.
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"Use of marijuana is clearly not going to stop," said the Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr. "So, we need to legalize it." Until that happens, the D.A. said his office won't prosecute pot smokers in an effort to remedy the "significant racial disparity" in the laws' application.
After years of spreading incendiary conspiracy theories, the right-wing gadfly Alex Jones was kicked off Facebook, YouTube, Apple, and Spotify because recent lawsuits highlight the "real-life harm" of his rhetoric, says Axios media reporter Sara Fischer, and the tech platforms have established a new standard for acceptable speech online.
