Thread by @digiphile

I'm watching the @SenateCommerce hearing on #Section230 with @Twitter, @Google, & @Facebook CEOs now: commerce.senate.gov/2020/10/does-s… @SenatorWicker now. @Jack @finkd @sundarpichai to follow.

Reminder: public officials blocking people violates the 1st Amendment: e-pluribusunum.org/2018/05/23/fed…

Claim by @Jack: #Section230 is the most important law protecting speech online.
True: radar.oreilly.com/2011/11/sopa-p…
The First Amendment only protects Americans from government censorship.

What I'm watching: whether any CEO or Senator acknowledges
1) asymmetry of media ecosystems &
2) how that affects @Policy violations & enforcement:

https://twitter.com/digiphile/status/1309890133089550337?s=20

3) Conservatives are "working the refs" in media & tech to get false equivalence nytimes.com/2020/08/09/bus…

What @SenateCommerce could have convened: a thoughtful discussion about the law, followed how, why & where tech companies moderate content on a global getting & inform the public about those decisions, backed by data:

https://twitter.com/digiphile/status/1205892058361344000

What we've got: what about [x] tweet?

@SenateCommerce What I'm watching: if any Senator asks @finkd about @facebook tweaking its algorithm to downrank progressive publishers

https://twitter.com/MonikaBauerlein/status/1319012310850043904

or
Have senior FB policy staff interfered in moderation decisions to exempt conservative content? theverge.com/21444203/faceb…

Hey, @Twitter: @SenCoryGardner is asking how @TwitterSafety has treated world leaders.
How about you break out a category for government accounts & start disclosing data, so we can have some shared facts? transparency.twitter.com/en/reports/rul…

Klobuchar: Do you require @Facebook to review political ads before they run?
Does a real person read the ads?
@finkd: I imagine a person does not

Facebook VP said it does not – but it should.

https://twitter.com/digiphile/status/1247914515846574080

@Facebook @finkd Klobuchar: have you complied with the part of Honest Ads that required disclosing targeting?
@finkd: we are leading in that area on transparency.
NOPE.
@Snapchat discloses targeting data.
@Facebook does not: e-pluribusunum.org/2019/09/18/sna…
Zuckerberg is either ignorant or disingenuous

oh ho! @SenJohnThune brings up "working the refs."
Are you the refs?
@finkd: I think not.
@Jack: No.
@SundarPichai: We do make content moderation decisions.

This must be satire.

@Facebook @Google @YouTube @Twitter moderate content around the world, every day, & have for years.

@SenJohnThune @finkd @jack @sundarpichai @Facebook @Google @YouTube @Twitter "people have choice over other information channels"-@jack
True:
radar.oreilly.com/2012/07/email-…

"we see a lot of abuse & harassment which causes people to leave the platform"-@Jack

@TedCruz responded that that was all absurd, but these statements were & are factual.

@SenJohnThune @finkd @jack @sundarpichai @Facebook @Google @YouTube @Twitter @tedcruz To restore access, @Jack says the @NYPost should log-in, delete the tweet that violated @policy, & can now tweet the same article.

The @Twitter CEO says, again, that the enforcement action of blocking URLs & DMs was incorrect.

And that every user must agree to @Twitter's ToS.

@SenJohnThune @finkd @jack @sundarpichai @Facebook @Google @YouTube @Twitter @tedcruz @nypost @Policy Senator @TedCruz asked @Jack who elected him to make & enforce @Twitter @Policy & pitched a fit over how this private company moderated speech on its service, referring to @NYPost:

https://twitter.com/digiphile/status/1316465192373563396

As exchange drew the most heat, it's likely to generate the most coverage

What's missing from this hearing: "we have to debate everything from the dominance of few social media companies over the public sphere to the problem of regulating attention in an age of information glut" zeynep.substack.com/p/the-problem-…
A healthier Congress would have done so, years ago

Claim: @Jack told Congress & the public @Twitter doesn't have a @policy against Holocaust denialism

Fact: False. Twitter banned them on October 14, 2020: theverge.com/2020/10/14/215…
The error may reflect Twitter's CEO's approach to delegation: wsj.com/articles/twitt…

@jack @Twitter @Policy If tech companies apply their moderation policies equitably, more conservative content will be taken down because the far-right media ecosystem traffics in conspiracy theories, misinformation, & lies more.
cyber.harvard.edu/publication/20…
But tech CEOs aren't likely to say that publicly!

Trump & the GOP's culture of victimhood & persecution means they will decry "bias" & ideologically-based censorship in bad faith, bullying private companies not to enforce policies on medical misinformation, civic integrity, conspiracy theories, coordinated abuse & amplification

Claim by @SenRickScott: "It's become obvious that your companies are unfairly targeting conservatives"
Factcheck: False; See above
Claim: @Politifact is a "Liberal media group."
Factcheck: ideological POV of staff irrelevant to accuracy; judge efficacy of fact-checks by validity