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Hearing via video conference: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on a screen in the Capitol in Washington
Photo: Michael Reynolds - Pool Via Cnp / imago images / ZUMA Wire
A few days before the US presidential election, the Republicans put pressure on the heads of Facebook, Twitter and Google to achieve looser rules for incumbent Donald Trump.
In a hearing in the US Senate, they accused the platforms of suppressing conservative views and threatened with stricter laws.
Above all, Twitter boss Jack Dorsey took them to the mangle.
"Mr. Dorsey, who the hell chose you and assigned you to decide what the media can report and what the American people can learn?" Yelled Republican Senator Ted Cruz at the Twitter boss.
"We don't do any of that," replied Dorsey.
Both were connected via video conference.
Cruz referred to the controversy surrounding a New York Post article alleging that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was involved in dubious business deals, citing alleged emails from his son Hunter's notebook.
Twitter had initially completely blocked the distribution of links to the article - with reference to rules against the distribution of content possibly obtained by hacking.
Dorsey stressed on Wednesday that the rule was changed afterwards and the article can now be shared again.
"More power than any other company"
In the past few months, Twitter had repeatedly provided tweets from Trump with misleading or incorrect information about the corona virus and the US election with warnings.
The Republicans claimed on Wednesday that the platform was not taking action against dubious tweets from foreign politicians.
Dorsey emphasized that Twitter is only prohibited from spreading false information in three areas: When it comes to health, the security of elections and the manipulation of media content.
Google boss Sundar Pichai held against Cruz that the Internet company had "more power than any other company on the planet".
The hearing should primarily focus on a US regulation, which is a cornerstone for the functioning of all major online platforms.
The so-called "Section 230" of a law from the 1990s says that services like Facebook and Twitter are not liable for content that their users post online.
On the other hand, it gives the platforms extensive freedom to take action against individual contributions.
Especially Trump attacks the rule.
Zuckerberg is open to changes
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg was open to cautious changes to the rule at the hearing in the Senate Trade Committee.
"I think Congress should update the law to make sure it works as intended," he said.
Among other things, Facebook is for more transparency around individual decisions.
At the same time, Zuckerberg defended the regulation in principle: "Without" Section 230 "the platforms could be made responsible for everything that people say online."
Trump had repeatedly called for the abolition of "Section 230" in the past few months.
His government took the first steps with the aim of limiting the scope for action against individual contributions.
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wal / dpa
