USA TODAY International Edition
Twitter, Facebook brace for oversight
Lawmakers want them to be more accountable
Lawmakers raised the prospect of greater scrutiny of social media companies, ushering in a new era of accountability for the nation’s powerful internet platforms.
During hearings on Capitol Hill, Senate and House Republicans and Democrats applauded efforts by Facebook and Twitter to root out foreign election meddling. But they warned that regulation may loom for social media companies, which are largely unfettered by the rules that govern other large consumer companies.
Pressure increased on Silicon Valley – and on Facebook in particular – after damaging revelations about Russianbacked influence operations and the Cambridge Analytica data collection scandal. Executives have signed off on the Honest Ads Act, which would mandate more transparency about who runs political ads on social media services.
Facebook and Twitter are gearing up to influence what kind of regulation gets enacted as they face threats from Washington to weaken a law, known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, that shields internet companies for the content that people put on their platforms.
“We don’t think it’s a question of whether regulation,” Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg testified during a congressional hearing. “We think it’s a question of the right regulation.”
During Wednesday’s hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on foreign election interference that ran more than 2 1⁄2 hours, lawmakers ques-
tioned Twitter’s chief executive Jack Dorsey and Sandberg over their companies’ efforts to disrupt foreign influence campaigns and the spread of disinformation on their platforms. They warned companies’ efforts were falling short ahead of November’s midterm elections as social media users continue to be targeted by foreign actors seeking to exacerbate political divisions in the U.S.
“Congress is going to have to take action here,” Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, warned. “The era of the Wild West in social media is coming to an end. Where we go from here is an open question.”
He added: “The size and reach of your platforms demand that we, as policy makers, do our job, to ensure proper oversight, transparency and protections for American users and for our democratic institutions.”
“If the answer is regulation, let’s have an honest dialogue about what that looks like,” said Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Most alarming to the tech industry is any discussion of further weakening Section 230 protections. Georgetown University’s Larry Downes, project director of the Center for Business and Public Policy, who specializes in regulation, internet and technology policy, calls such a move by Washington “the scorched earth approach.”
“Removing more of the platforms’ immunity from liability for illegal third-party content including fraud and libel would result in drastic reductions in the kinds of content companies would be able to host, notably social networks. It might, as in Europe, make such services effectively impossible,” Downes said.
Within minutes of the Senate hearing wrapping up, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced he would meet with several state attorneys general to discuss whether social media companies are “intentionally stifling” free speech and obstructing competition. The remarks escalate recent charges of anti-conservative bias by President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers.