Thread: Justice to convene meeting on whether social media companies are 'intentionally stifl

Justice to convene meeting on whether social media companies are 'intentionally stifling' free speech

By Morgan Chalfant and Harper Neidig - 09/05/18 12:56 PM EDT 2,488
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions has scheduled a meeting with state attorneys general in September to discuss a “growing concern” that tech companies may be “intentionally stifling” the free flow of ideas on their platforms.
In a statement issued right after executives from Facebook and Twitter finished testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Department of Justice (DOJ) also suggested that the platforms were running afoul of antitrust laws.
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“The Attorney General has convened a meeting with a number of state attorneys general this month to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms,” DOJ spokesman Devin O’Malley said in a statement issued near the end of the congressional hearing.
President Trump and conservative House Republicans have repeatedly aired complaints about bias against conservatives on Facebook, Twitter, Google and other social media platforms. Those companies though have denied censoring conservative speech.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday morning on efforts to combat foreign influence operations on their platforms.
Dorsey will face a second grilling later Wednesday from lawmakers in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he is expected to face questions on the allegations of conservative censorship.
The DOJ's move is the first sign of the administration taking concrete action to address alleged bias following President Trump's public accusations against tech companies last week. It also comes at a time of tension between the president and his top law enforcement officer. Trump has repeatedly chastised Sessions over his decision to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, faulting the attorney general in August for not taking control of what he sees as "corruption" at the Justice Department. And on Monday, Trump blasted Sessions on Twitter over recent indictments against two Republican congressmen.
The announcement also signals that the Justice Department is paying attention to the growing movement to challenge Facebook's and Google's market power.
Last week, Trump said the companies might have antitrust problems but declined to discuss whether they should be broken up.
Google has been dogged by massive antitrust fines in Europe, where regulators have accused the company of using its dominance in internet search, mobile operating systems and online advertising to suppress competition.
Facebook is also facing antitrust scrutiny in the EU.
But the U.S. has yet to take any action against the internet giants over their market power.
Spokespeople for Google, Facebook and Twitter did not immediately respond when asked for comment.


http://thehill.com/policy/technology...-companies-are

The Justice Department said Jeff Sessions will convene a number of states’ attorneys general later in September "to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms." | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

TECHNOLOGY

Sessions throws DOJ's weight into social media bias complaints

DOJ said it’s concerned about ‘free exchange of ideas.’ But one industry representative questioned whether the aim is to ‘intimidate’ tech companies.

By NANCY SCOLA
09/05/2018 07:48 PM EDT


Wednesday was meant to be Silicon Valley's day in the Washington hot seat over Republican accusations of anti-conservative bias.

Then Attorney General Jeff Sessions heightened the stakes by announcing that his Justice Department will dig into the topic — an action that follows weeks of complaints by President Donald Trump.

In news that landed in between the day’s two tech-focused congressional hearings, the DOJ said Sessions will convene a number of states’ attorneys general later in September "to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms." That development reverberated throughout the tech industry — which scrambled to figure out what, exactly, Sessions was up to.

Some in the industry said the DOJ's announcement raises concerns about politicization.

"Mixing 'competition' and the 'exchange of ideas' raises the idea of government using antitrust law to intimidate companies into doing their bidding — into being favorable to the Trump administration," said Ed Black, president and CEO of the Computer and Communications Industry Association. "It's worrisome." Facebook and Google are both members of CCIA.
Sessions, though, isn't the first Republican to raise the notion of greater government oversight of online platforms.

"I’m not looking for a lot of regulation, I’m looking for responsibility," House Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) said at a February event. "If responsibility doesn’t flow, then regulation will."

Trump in recent weeks has repeatedly hammered on the idea — one popularized by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other prominent conservatives — that Twitter, Facebook and Google are biased against conservatives. That much is clear. But much of the rest of what the DOJ is doing is a mystery, people in the industry say, including whether the outreach to state attorneys general is bipartisan and whether the DOJ envisions any avenue for applying competition law to questions of partisan discrimination.

The DOJ dropped its notice in between a Senate hearing on election security featuring Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, and a House hearing on alleged bias featuring Dorsey alone. The DOJ said in its statement that it had "listened ... closely" to the Senate session, a somewhat confusing note given that bias hardly came up during that hearing.
A DOJ source said the session with Sessions and the local officials is set to take place Sept. 25, and had been scheduled before the hearing to address the attorney general's longstanding concerns.
Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel of the trade association NetChoice, said that his fellow conservatives' push for more oversight of digital platforms is ill-conceived.


Twitter's Dorsey takes heat on bias allegations: Key moments from tech hearings


By CRISTIANO LIMA

"Conservative values are centered around the idea that businesses should be allowed to do what they think is best for their customers, and that's exactly what these companies are doing," said Szabo. Facebook and Google are members of NetChoice.

Asked what sort of legal argument about competition Sessions might be making, "It doesn't make any sense to me," said Szabo, a former Federal Trade Commission official on the staff of Republican Orson Swindle.

Sessions' outreach to state attorneys general is significant — many of the regulatory actions taken against the tech industry in recent years have happened on the local level. California recently passed a set of privacy rules widely opposed by the industry, and Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, a Republican, has announced that he's investigating Google on antitrust and privacy grounds.
Said Hawley at the time, “I will not let Missouri consumers and businesses be exploited by industry giants.”

Dorsey got a question about the DOJ's surprise announcement during Wednesday afternoon's hearing. Florida Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor asked whether the Twitter CEO felt like he was the target of a "manipulation campaign," especially when the DOJ action comes amid Republican fundraising efforts off the bias complaints.

"Now the Justice Department even says, 'Boy, this is so serious that we have to investigate it,'" Castor said.

Dorsey didn't take the bait, saying he appreciated concerns about the platform he heads.

"That's a very diplomatic answer, I have to say," Castor shot back.

Democratic lawmakers, though, were quick to say that the huge amount of attention Republicans are paying to alleged social media bias is little more than political grandstanding.

“As reported in the news, the Trump campaign and the Republican majority leader have used the supposed anti-conservative bias online to fundraise," said New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "This hearing appears to be just one more mechanism to raise money and generate outrage. It appears Republicans are desperately trying to rally their base by fabricating a problem that simply does not exist.”

Dorsey found himself in a tight spot throughout his day on Capitol Hill. Complaints that Twitter was meddling with conservative tweets were mixed with calls for him to help improve the quality of public discussions that take place on Twitter.

In pushing back against complaints of bias, many in the tech industry argue that social media has actually been a boon to conservatives. The Tea Party first found traction there, they point out, and Trump is among its most prominent users.

Trump, in fact, often turns to Twitter to voice his complaints about his own administration, including Sessions. On Monday, for example, Trump mocked Sessions for recently bringing charges against two Republican members of Congress shortly before the mid-term elections that will determine the control of Congress. "Good job Jeff...... [sic]," the president tweeted.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/...plaints-770449

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Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testified in a Senate Intelligence committee hearing on foreign electioneering on social media Wednesday. | Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo

Sessions talking to state AGs on tech's alleged threats to free speech

By NANCY SCOLA and CRISTIANO LIMA
09/05/2018 01:34 PM EDT

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has engaged state attorneys general in talks on what the DOJ said are increasing concerns that Twitter, Facebook and Google are restricting the free flow of information, as Republicans allege anti-conservative bias from the platforms.

"The Attorney General has convened a meeting with a number of state attorneys general this month to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms," Justice Department spokesman Devin O'Malley said in a statement provided to POLITICO.

O'Malley said the DOJ "listened ... closely" to a Senate Intelligence committee hearing today on foreign electioneering on social media. Google declined to send a witness acceptable to the committee for that hearing. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testified. Dorsey is slated to appear solo at a House and Energy Commerce hearing this afternoon focused on how his company polices content.

President Donald Trump has recently championed the idea that major technology companies, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, are biased against conservatives. Other prominent Republicans, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale have echoed the complaint.

The companies have rejected the notion that they intentionally inject partisan bias into their platforms.

The Justice Department gave no date for the session.

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  https://www.politico.com/story/2018/...ve-bias-808685