House Rep Suggests Converting Google, Facebook, Twitter Into Populace Utilities (Fb; Goog; Twtr)

From TechCrunch, July 17:

Amidst questions almost how conspiracy theorists’ accounts are treated during today’s House Judiciary hearing alongside Facebook, Google in addition to Twitter on social media filtering practices, Representative Steve King (R-Iowa) dropped a bombshell. “What almost converting the large behemoth organizations that we’re talking almost hither into populace utilities?”

King’s proposition followed his inquiries almost right-wing outlet Gateway Pundit losing achieve on social media in addition to how Facebook’s algorithm worked. The insinuation was that these companies cannot properly hold fair platforms for discourse.

The illustration also suggested at that spot may endure demand for “review” of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that protects interactive reckoner services from beingness treated every bit the publisher of content users transportation service on their platforms. If that dominion was changed, social media companies could endure held responsible for illegal content, from copyright infringement or child pornography, appearing on their platform. That would potentially cripple the social media industry, requiring extensive pre-vetting of whatsoever content they display.

The part prices of the tech giants did non encounter pregnant declines upon the representative’s comments, indicating the markets don’t necessarily fearfulness that overbearing rule of this nature is likely.

Here’s the telephone substitution betwixt King in addition to Google’s Global Head of Public Policy in addition to Government Relations for YouTube Juniper Downs:

King: “Ms. Downs, I intend yous accept a feel of my describe of piece of employment organisation almost where this is going. I’m all for liberty of speech, in addition to gratuitous enterprise, in addition to for contest in addition to finding a agency that contest itself does its ain rule in addition to therefore authorities doesn’t accept to. But if this gets farther out of hand, it appears to me that Section 230 needs to endure reviewed.

And 1 of the discussions that I’m hearing is ‘what almost converting the large behemoth organizations that we’re talking almost hither into populace utilities?’ How create yous respond to that inquiry?”

Downs: “As I said previously, nosotros operate inwards a highly competitive environment, the tech industry is incredibly dynamic, nosotros encounter novel entrants all the time. We encounter competitors across all of our products at Google, in addition to nosotros believe that the framework that governs our services is an appropriate agency to cash inwards one's chips on to back upwards innovation.”

Unfortunately, many of the representatives frittered away their 5 minutes each quest questions that companies had already answered inwards previous congressional hearings or populace announcements...

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