The big bosses of American tech, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Sundar Pichai (Google) and Jack Dorsey (Twitter) will face the US Congress on Wednesday.
The title of the hearing announces the color:
"Does Section 230 Support Big Tech Bad Behavior?"
.
The Senate refers to the Communication Decency Act, passed in 1996 and the cornerstone of the American Internet.
It rules that internet platforms have no legal responsibility for problematic content published by third parties, and are free to moderate them as they wish.
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Both Republicans and Democrats agree that Section 230, passed long before the creation of Facebook or Twitter, must be modernized to empower social media.
But if the Democrats are worried about the supposed laxity of the Gafa in the face of hateful and deceptive speeches, the Republicans consider themselves on the contrary gagged by platforms nourished by left-wing ideals.
According to the US Senate, the hearing
"will address the unintended consequences of the immunity enjoyed by social networks, and how to ensure that the internet remains a forum for free expression."
Republican senators shouldn't fail to question Twitter boss Jack Dorsey about the 48-hour ban on sharing a
New York Post
article
on Hunter Biden, the son of the Democratic White House candidate.
The hearing, by videoconference, should feed legislative proposals to reform section 230. A bill to this effect was tabled last month by the Ministry of Justice.
