Hints of what tech companies may face from Dem House as Google CEO testifies

WASHINGTON — Google CEO Sundar Pichai — and other tech executives who may be watching — got hints Tuesday of what issues they can expect to face as Democrats take control of the House in three weeks.

While Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee grilled Pichai on what they perceive as bias against conservatives, top committee Democrat Jerrold Nadler said lawmakers should instead examine issues such as the spread of misinformation online and Russians’ efforts to influence U.S. elections online.

The issue of user privacy also came up over and over. Looming over the tech industry is the possibility of government regulation intended to protect people’s data and a deeper look into whether gigantic companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook need to be broken up.

The CEO insisted that Google’s search engine is not biased against any political viewpoint.

President Donald Trump has accused Google of rigging search results to suppress conservative viewpoints.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, RCalif., kicked off the hearing by noting a “widening gap of distrust” between tech companies and the American people.

Asked for yes-or-no answers on what information the company collects, Pichai demurred and attempted to convey that things are more complicated.

Momentum is building in Congress for legislation to put stricter limits and privacy protections around the big tech companies’ collection of data.