Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker (R), chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a hearing today titled, “Does Section 230’s Sweeping Immunity Enable Big Tech Bad Behavior?,” at 9:00 a.m. CT.
The hearing will examine whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has outlived its usefulness in today’s digital age. It will also examine legislative proposals to modernize the decades-old law, increase transparency and accountability among big technology companies for their content moderation practices, and explore the impact of large ad-tech platforms on local journalism and consumer privacy.
Today I will chair a @senatecommerce hearing featuring the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter, & Google. They will have to answer for their content moderation practices, which have disproportionately affected conservatives. Tune in at 9AM CT/10AM ET here. https://t.co/aIjCmc10ZG pic.twitter.com/tjZZcfSPZW
— Senator Roger Wicker (@SenatorWicker) October 28, 2020
The hearing will provide an opportunity to discuss the unintended consequences of Section 230’s liability shield and how best to preserve the internet as a forum for open discourse.
In early October, the Senate Commerce Committee initially unanimously authorized subpoenas for Big Tech CEOs to appear before the committee. However, all concerned agreed to attend without the subpoenas.
Scheduled to attend today’s hearing are:
- Jack Dorsey, Chief Executive Officer, Twitter
- Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer, Alphabet Inc., Google
- Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive Officer, Facebook
You can watch the full Senate Commerce Committee hearing here.
Senator Wicker appeared on FoxBusiness Tuesday to give a preview of what the Committee will be discussing.
Frank Corder
