By Ryan Tracy
WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers blamed big technology companies for an
array of societal problems Thursday, excoriating their CEOs for
lack of accountability and building momentum for legislation to
weaken the liability shield enjoyed by online platforms.
In a combative House hearing stretching more than five hours
Thursday, the chief executives of Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc.,
Alphabet Inc. and its Google unit were accused of running social
media platforms that sow political discord, spread Covid-19
misinformation and create a dangerous environment for children.
"Your business model itself has become the problem," said Rep.
Frank Pallone (D., N.J.), the chairman of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R. Wash.), the
panel's top Republican, told the CEOs, "Your platforms are my
biggest fear as a parent."
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc., which owns Google and YouTube,
defended their products' benefits and said harmful content isn't
profitable because it makes their services less appealing.
Much of the hearing focused directly or indirectly on Section
230, the law that generally shields online platforms from liability
for the content that their users post, but also gives the platforms
broad discretion to remove that content.
Republicans and Democrats have been divided over both the
shortcomings of 230 and the remedies to correct them, but
Thursday's hearing indicated there was bipartisan support for
revising the law.
"We're going to see some changes in Section 230," said Rep. Fred
Upton (R., Mich.), the committee's former chairman.
"This panel has done something truly rare in Washington these
days: It has united Democrats and Republicans," said Rep. Angie
Craig (D., Minn.) "Your industry cannot be trusted to regulate
itself."
A major focus, particularly among Republican members, were
questions about the effects of social media on children, suggesting
that issue could become fodder for an eventual legislative
bargain.
Rep. Bill Johnson (R., Ohio) likened the CEOs of big tech
companies to those from large tobacco companies, referencing the
effects that cyberbullying, extremism and screen addiction have on
children.
"Big Tech is essentially handing our children a lit cigarette
and hoping they will stay hooked for life," Mr. Johnson said.
"There's a lot of smugness among you. There's this air of
untouchableness in your response to many of [the] tough questions
you've been asked."
Mr. Zuckerberg dismissed the idea that social media might be
harmful to children.
"The research we've seen is that using social apps to connect to
other people can have health benefits," he said, though he
acknowledged that Facebook was internally researching such
matters.
He also said the company was "early in thinking through" a
version of its Instagram product for children under 13. That new
service would potentially join YouTube, which operates YouTube
Kids, in creating a platform aimed at young users.
Democratic lawmakers mentioned several ideas beyond changing
Section 230.
Rep. Peter Welch (D., Vt.) floated the possibility of a new
public entity to oversee the online world and take over some of the
difficult decisions that the companies now make over content
moderation and other issues. Rep. Mike Doyle (D., Pa.), a senior
member of the panel, said the companies' platforms played a central
role in unrest after the November 2020 election, and government
needs regulations and "audit authority" over social media
technology.
The appearances of the CEOs, via video, was their first before a
House panel since the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. They began the hearing
by addressing questions about social media's role in fomenting the
discord and their subsequent decisions to suspend or ban former
President Donald Trump.
Mr. Zuckerberg pushed back against lawmakers' blaming of his
company for societal ills, laying out Facebook seeks to deal with
harmful or false content.
"It's not possible to catch every piece of harmful content
without infringing on people's freedoms in a way that I don't think
we'd be comfortable with as a society," he said. "The system isn't
perfect, but it's the best approach we've found."
Pressed on Facebook's responsibility for the Jan. 6 event, he
said, "I believe that the former president should be responsible
for his words and that the people who broke the law should be
responsible for their actions."
More broadly, Mr. Zuckerberg said that "the division we see
today is the result of a political and media environment that
drives people apart."
Mr. Pichai said false information spreading online presents "a
big challenge without easy answers," and noted that the free flow
of information on the web "has been a powerful force for good for
so many."
Twitter makes mistakes, Mr. Dorsey said, but he warned lawmakers
about a world without content takedowns. "If we woke up tomorrow
and decided to stop moderating content, we would end up with a
service very few people or advertisers would want to use," he
said.
Mr. Zuckerberg said Congress should consider forcing digital
platforms to earn the legal immunity they enjoy hosting third-party
content, a legal change that could affect a range of online
businesses.
Both Democrats and Republicans are concerned that Section 230
gives large tech companies too much leeway to decide what
information Americans see, though the parties have different
concerns.
The law, an element of the 1996 Communications Decency Act,
helped fuel the growth of social media by giving internet platforms
immunity for comments that users, reviewers, consumers and others
post on their sites.
Many Republicans think social-media platforms are removing too
much content under Section 230, while Democrats see them not
removing enough and allowing harmful content to spread.
To date, those divisions have stood in the way of any consensus
on how to change Section 230, and no bill to do so has gained
significant traction on Capitol Hill.
Twitter and Google have indicated that they are open to
discussing legal changes with Congress, but they have been less
specific than Facebook about what Section 230 changes they would
support.
"We rely on the liability protections to actually take strong
action on particularly new types of content," such as a video of a
mass shooting, Mr. Pichai told lawmakers.
Mr. Dorsey cautioned against allowing governments to decide
content-moderation practices. "Forcing every business to behave the
same reduces innovation and individual choice," he said.
He also questioned the idea of differentiating between large and
small platforms. "I think it's going to be very hard to determine
what is a large platform and a small platform, and it may
incentivize the wrong things," he said.
Mr. Dorsey posted several tweets during the hearing, one poking
fun at demands for yes-or-no answers to questions.
"Your multitasking skills are quite impressive," Rep. Kathleen
Rice (D., N.Y.), noticing the tweets, told him.
--John D. McKinnon, Tripp Mickle and Jeff Horwitz contributed to
this article.
Write to Ryan Tracy at ryan.tracy@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 25, 2021 18:12 ET (22:12 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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