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| Live Updates: Twitter’s Jack Dorsey Faces a More Political House Hearing | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| • Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chief executive, is testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the moderation of online content. The hearing has taken a more political tone than a Senate hearing earlier in the day. | • Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chief executive, is testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the moderation of online content. The hearing has taken a more political tone than a Senate hearing earlier in the day. |
| • Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, and Mr. Dorsey testified at the Senate hearing about their companies’ response to foreign interference in elections and the moderation of online content. | • Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, and Mr. Dorsey testified at the Senate hearing about their companies’ response to foreign interference in elections and the moderation of online content. |
| • Larry Page, the chief executive of Google’s parent company Alphabet, was also invited to the Senate hearing but the company declined to send him. Several senators noted that no one from Google was there. | • Larry Page, the chief executive of Google’s parent company Alphabet, was also invited to the Senate hearing but the company declined to send him. Several senators noted that no one from Google was there. |
| • The House hearing can be watched live on the Senate Intelligence Committee website, C-Span, and the House Energy and Commerce committee website. | • The House hearing can be watched live on the Senate Intelligence Committee website, C-Span, and the House Energy and Commerce committee website. |
| The House hearing kicked off with a more political tone than the morning Senate hearing with social media executives. | The House hearing kicked off with a more political tone than the morning Senate hearing with social media executives. |
| Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chief executive officer, was asked by Representative Greg Walden of Oregon, the Republican chairman of the committee, how algorithms could be suppressing conservative views on the service. | Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chief executive officer, was asked by Representative Greg Walden of Oregon, the Republican chairman of the committee, how algorithms could be suppressing conservative views on the service. |
| It was a stark change from the morning hearing, when Senate Intelligence Committee members were more collegial and appeared to share similar concerns with Facebook and Twitter over disinformation and foreign influence on their site. | It was a stark change from the morning hearing, when Senate Intelligence Committee members were more collegial and appeared to share similar concerns with Facebook and Twitter over disinformation and foreign influence on their site. |
| The top Democrat in the House hearing, Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey, accused his Republican counterparts on the committee of having political motives behind their accusations. | The top Democrat in the House hearing, Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey, accused his Republican counterparts on the committee of having political motives behind their accusations. |
| “President Trump and many Republicans have peddled conspiracy theories about Twitter and other social media platforms to whip up their base and fund-raise,” Mr. Pallone said. “I fear the Republicans are using this hearing for those purposes instead of addressing the serious issues raised by social media platforms that affect Americans’ everyday lives.” | “President Trump and many Republicans have peddled conspiracy theories about Twitter and other social media platforms to whip up their base and fund-raise,” Mr. Pallone said. “I fear the Republicans are using this hearing for those purposes instead of addressing the serious issues raised by social media platforms that affect Americans’ everyday lives.” |
| Representative Joe Barton, a Republican of Texas, said: “We wouldn’t be having this discussion if there wasn’t a general agreement that your company had discriminated against conservatives.” | |
| Mr. Dorsey, who read opening remarks from a phone while live-tweeting, said the company has found no evidence of political bias. | Mr. Dorsey, who read opening remarks from a phone while live-tweeting, said the company has found no evidence of political bias. |
| “Looking at the data, we analyzed tweets sent by all members of the House and Senate, and found no statistically significant difference between the number of times a tweet by a Democrat is viewed versus a Republican, even after our ranking and filtering of tweets has been applied,” Mr. Dorsey said. | “Looking at the data, we analyzed tweets sent by all members of the House and Senate, and found no statistically significant difference between the number of times a tweet by a Democrat is viewed versus a Republican, even after our ranking and filtering of tweets has been applied,” Mr. Dorsey said. |
| Representative Mike Doyle, a Democrat of Pennsylvania, accused Representative Kevin McCarthy, the majority leader, of sounding the alarm of anticonservative bias for political gains. | Representative Mike Doyle, a Democrat of Pennsylvania, accused Representative Kevin McCarthy, the majority leader, of sounding the alarm of anticonservative bias for political gains. |
| He described those accusations as a “load of crap.” | He described those accusations as a “load of crap.” |
| — Cecilia Kang | — Cecilia Kang |
| Lawmakers and Mr. Dorsey are using a lot of jargon in Wednesday afternoon’s House hearing. Here are explanations of some of those terms. | |
| Shadow banning Shadow banning is a moderation tactic for online discussions that hides an individual’s comments from other users involved in the conversation without letting the person know that their comments are hidden. The practice is intended to limit the impact of trolls and abusers without instigating them to create fresh accounts to continue their behavior. | |
| Conservative Twitter users have recently rallied around claims that Twitter shadow bans users based on their politics. In July, President Trump tweeted that he would look into the “discriminatory and illegal practice.” However, Twitter says it does not shadow ban users. Twitter’s algorithmic timeline ranks tweets based on a number of factors, causing some tweets to appear higher in the timeline than others. | |
| Signal Twitter ranks tweets based on what the company calls signals. Signals include a user’s actions on Twitter, as well as actions that other accounts make when interacting with a user’s account. Signals are often specific to a particular user’s account — for instance, if you follow a certain celebrity or politician, their tweets might appear higher in a search than tweets from other users. Twitter also considers signals of authenticity, such as whether a user has verified his phone number or email address, when ranking tweets. If a user is blocked or muted by a large number of accounts, their tweets might appear lower in search or in the Twitter timeline. | |
| Bot A Twitter bot is an automated account that publishes tweets without human intervention. Some bots publish useful information like automated earthquake alerts, but bots are also used in some harassment and misinformation campaigns to amplify certain messages over the voices of human users. | |
| Downranking This is the practice of displaying particular tweets or users lower in timeline and search. When Twitter introduced its service, it displayed all tweets in chronological order. As the service grew, Twitter switched to a timeline ordered by an algorithm. In the new timeline, Twitter attempts to rank tweets based on quality and relevance. Tweets that Twitter’s algorithm flags as low-quality are downranked. Twitter also sometimes hides tweets behind a warning that tells the user that the content could be abusive or offensive. | |
| — Kate Conger | |
| Nearly an hour before the committee was set to start, the conservative personalities Alex Jones, Laura Loomer and Charles C. Johnson gathered with an entourage of cameras to heckle members of the news media and House committee members. They have been critical of Twitter policies. | Nearly an hour before the committee was set to start, the conservative personalities Alex Jones, Laura Loomer and Charles C. Johnson gathered with an entourage of cameras to heckle members of the news media and House committee members. They have been critical of Twitter policies. |
| Last month, Twitter announced it would ban Mr. Jones for seven days for violating its terms of service. Mr. Jones has faced a suspension from Facebook as well, and Apple removed some of his podcasts, for violating their terms of service. | Last month, Twitter announced it would ban Mr. Jones for seven days for violating its terms of service. Mr. Jones has faced a suspension from Facebook as well, and Apple removed some of his podcasts, for violating their terms of service. |
| Mr. Jones told journalists that he was there to “face my accusers.” | Mr. Jones told journalists that he was there to “face my accusers.” |
| — Sheera Frenkel | — Sheera Frenkel |
| Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, asked the executives about their responsibilities to control harmful behavior on their platforms. | Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, asked the executives about their responsibilities to control harmful behavior on their platforms. |
| He noted that the illegal sale of opioids on their platforms still exists. Mr. Manchin asked if the companies felt that they should bear some responsibility for deaths relate to opioid sales on their platform. | He noted that the illegal sale of opioids on their platforms still exists. Mr. Manchin asked if the companies felt that they should bear some responsibility for deaths relate to opioid sales on their platform. |
| Neither Mr. Dorsey nor Ms. Sandberg answered that question directly, and they stressed the importance of laws that protect internet platforms from lawsuits. | Neither Mr. Dorsey nor Ms. Sandberg answered that question directly, and they stressed the importance of laws that protect internet platforms from lawsuits. |
| The executives said they could be open to further reforms to a law that provides a safe harbor from liability to internet companies, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The law, passed in 1996, is considered the Holy Grail of internet policy, providing broad protections that are credited with the rapid growth of Silicon Valley. | The executives said they could be open to further reforms to a law that provides a safe harbor from liability to internet companies, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The law, passed in 1996, is considered the Holy Grail of internet policy, providing broad protections that are credited with the rapid growth of Silicon Valley. |
| But they said that the protection also allows them greater freedom to police bad behavior without fear of legal actions. | But they said that the protection also allows them greater freedom to police bad behavior without fear of legal actions. |
| “We benefit from a lot of protections it gives,” Mr. Dorsey said. | “We benefit from a lot of protections it gives,” Mr. Dorsey said. |
| “The safe harbor of 230 has been very important in enabling companies like ours to do proactive enforcement without increasingly our liability,” Ms. Sandberg said. “So we would like to work very closely on how this is enacted.” | “The safe harbor of 230 has been very important in enabling companies like ours to do proactive enforcement without increasingly our liability,” Ms. Sandberg said. “So we would like to work very closely on how this is enacted.” |
| — Cecilia Kang | — Cecilia Kang |
| Lawmakers pressed the two executives on how their platforms notify users of foreign influence campaigns. | Lawmakers pressed the two executives on how their platforms notify users of foreign influence campaigns. |
| Ms. Sandberg said Facebook is getting better at letting users know of fake accounts and ads. She raised the example of an event in Washington, D.C., that was promoted by an inauthentic account. When Facebook detected the account, the company took down the event and notified users who indicated their interest in attending. | Ms. Sandberg said Facebook is getting better at letting users know of fake accounts and ads. She raised the example of an event in Washington, D.C., that was promoted by an inauthentic account. When Facebook detected the account, the company took down the event and notified users who indicated their interest in attending. |
| [Take our test to see if you can spot the deceptive Facebook post.] | [Take our test to see if you can spot the deceptive Facebook post.] |
| Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, criticized Twitter for Russian activity that affected her account but that was only brought to her attention by researchers from Clemson University. | Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, criticized Twitter for Russian activity that affected her account but that was only brought to her attention by researchers from Clemson University. |
| Mr. Dorsey admitted that Twitter needed to improve its process of detecting fake accounts and notifying users, and said the company wants to work more with academics. | Mr. Dorsey admitted that Twitter needed to improve its process of detecting fake accounts and notifying users, and said the company wants to work more with academics. |
| “We do believe in transparency and a big part of where we need the most work,” Mr. Dorsey said. | “We do believe in transparency and a big part of where we need the most work,” Mr. Dorsey said. |
| — Cecilia Kang | — Cecilia Kang |
| Regulation is coming. Senators made that clear in their statements to Ms. Sandberg and Mr. Dorsey. But the precise form of that legislation is unclear. | Regulation is coming. Senators made that clear in their statements to Ms. Sandberg and Mr. Dorsey. But the precise form of that legislation is unclear. |
| “Congress is going to have to take action here,” said Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia. “The era of the Wild West in social media is coming to an end.” | “Congress is going to have to take action here,” said Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia. “The era of the Wild West in social media is coming to an end.” |
| Several lawmakers indicated that they saw an opening for regulation related to election interference on social media platforms, because they considered it a threat to national security. Other senators appeared to favor a privacy approach, focusing on individual rights to control personal data. | Several lawmakers indicated that they saw an opening for regulation related to election interference on social media platforms, because they considered it a threat to national security. Other senators appeared to favor a privacy approach, focusing on individual rights to control personal data. |
| Data privacy, said Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat from Oregon, would serve as the “foundation” of legislation that he has previously discussed with Twitter and Facebook. | Data privacy, said Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat from Oregon, would serve as the “foundation” of legislation that he has previously discussed with Twitter and Facebook. |
| Social media companies are resigned to the notion that regulation is on its way. Twitter and Facebook have endorsed the Honest Ads Act, a proposal that would require more transparency about who is paying for online ads, and have begun building so-called ad transparency centers on their platforms. | Social media companies are resigned to the notion that regulation is on its way. Twitter and Facebook have endorsed the Honest Ads Act, a proposal that would require more transparency about who is paying for online ads, and have begun building so-called ad transparency centers on their platforms. |
| But expect some resistance from the tech giants. In a white paper, Mr. Warner proposed 20 legislative possibilities. When pressed on one of the proposals, Ms. Sandberg replied, “We don’t think it’s a question of whether regulation, we think it’s a question of the right regulation.” | But expect some resistance from the tech giants. In a white paper, Mr. Warner proposed 20 legislative possibilities. When pressed on one of the proposals, Ms. Sandberg replied, “We don’t think it’s a question of whether regulation, we think it’s a question of the right regulation.” |
| — Kate Conger | — Kate Conger |
| Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, questioned the executives on their allegiance to American values like free speech as they are pressured by foreign nations to suppress the voices of users outside the United States. | Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, questioned the executives on their allegiance to American values like free speech as they are pressured by foreign nations to suppress the voices of users outside the United States. |
| “Your company would not exist if not for United States and the freedoms we have,” Mr. Rubio said. | “Your company would not exist if not for United States and the freedoms we have,” Mr. Rubio said. |
| When asked about Facebook’s commitment to free speech globally, Ms. Sandberg said, “We support these principles around the world,” adding that the company does not have servers in Vietnam and would apply those same principles to China. | When asked about Facebook’s commitment to free speech globally, Ms. Sandberg said, “We support these principles around the world,” adding that the company does not have servers in Vietnam and would apply those same principles to China. |
| With Twitter, which defines itself as a global town square, Mr. Rubio said he was concerned that foreign governments could pressure the company to stifle speech. | With Twitter, which defines itself as a global town square, Mr. Rubio said he was concerned that foreign governments could pressure the company to stifle speech. |
| Mr. Dorsey responded by saying that the company regularly pushes back against nations like Turkey, which demands the site censor certain voices. | Mr. Dorsey responded by saying that the company regularly pushes back against nations like Turkey, which demands the site censor certain voices. |
| “Oftentimes we’ve won but that’s not always the case. We would like to fight freely and see everything,” Mr. Dorsey said. | “Oftentimes we’ve won but that’s not always the case. We would like to fight freely and see everything,” Mr. Dorsey said. |
| Mr. Rubio had strong words for Google, saying the company’s decision to miss the hearing was “maybe because they are arrogant,” or maybe because its executives wanted to dodge questions over a recent report of a consumer watchdog group posing as a Russian troll farm that tried to buy ads on Google. | Mr. Rubio had strong words for Google, saying the company’s decision to miss the hearing was “maybe because they are arrogant,” or maybe because its executives wanted to dodge questions over a recent report of a consumer watchdog group posing as a Russian troll farm that tried to buy ads on Google. |
| — Cecilia Kang | — Cecilia Kang |
| Ms. Sandberg and Mr. Dorsey’s opening statements displayed their obvious differences. | Ms. Sandberg and Mr. Dorsey’s opening statements displayed their obvious differences. |
| Ms. Sandberg, who was born in Washington, and spent years living there during her time at the Treasury Department, appeared confident in her opening remarks. Speaking clearly and with practiced pacing, she complimented the committee’s previous work on election interference. | Ms. Sandberg, who was born in Washington, and spent years living there during her time at the Treasury Department, appeared confident in her opening remarks. Speaking clearly and with practiced pacing, she complimented the committee’s previous work on election interference. |
| Mr. Dorsey stumbled during his opening, forgetting to turn on his microphone and reading from a cellphone he held in his hand. He added that he was also live-tweeting his opening remarks through his Twitter account. | Mr. Dorsey stumbled during his opening, forgetting to turn on his microphone and reading from a cellphone he held in his hand. He added that he was also live-tweeting his opening remarks through his Twitter account. |
| While Ms. Sandberg made consistent eye contact with the senators, Mr. Dorsey appeared to be reading from his phone between questions. | While Ms. Sandberg made consistent eye contact with the senators, Mr. Dorsey appeared to be reading from his phone between questions. |
| Leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee struck a more positive tone toward Facebook and Twitter at the start of the hearing, commending them for efforts they have taken in the past year to combat disinformation campaigns and foreign meddling on their platform. | Leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee struck a more positive tone toward Facebook and Twitter at the start of the hearing, commending them for efforts they have taken in the past year to combat disinformation campaigns and foreign meddling on their platform. |
| Committee chairman Richard Burr, a Republican of North Carolina, and vice chairman, Mark Warner, a Democrat of Virginia, said the companies appear to take the problems seriously but that they can’t solve their problems alone. | Committee chairman Richard Burr, a Republican of North Carolina, and vice chairman, Mark Warner, a Democrat of Virginia, said the companies appear to take the problems seriously but that they can’t solve their problems alone. |
| “My instinct is to applaud the diligence of your security teams and credit you with taking the problem seriously,” Mr. Burr said in opening remarks. “But I’m not sure your success is the big story here.” | “My instinct is to applaud the diligence of your security teams and credit you with taking the problem seriously,” Mr. Burr said in opening remarks. “But I’m not sure your success is the big story here.” |
| Mr. Warner said Congress may need to act to help the companies combat foreign interference on their sites. | Mr. Warner said Congress may need to act to help the companies combat foreign interference on their sites. |
| “You’ve gotten better, and I’m pleased to see you’ve begun to take action, but the Russians are getting better as well,” Mr. Warner said. “They have become harder to track. Worse, now that the Russian playbook is out there, other adversaries, like Iran, have joined the fray.” | “You’ve gotten better, and I’m pleased to see you’ve begun to take action, but the Russians are getting better as well,” Mr. Warner said. “They have become harder to track. Worse, now that the Russian playbook is out there, other adversaries, like Iran, have joined the fray.” |
| — Cecilia Kang and Sheera Frenkel | — Cecilia Kang and Sheera Frenkel |