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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/technology/live/2018/sep/05/facebook-sheryl-sandberg-twitter-congress-russia
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| Facebook and Twitter bosses testify to Congress on Russian meddling – live | Facebook and Twitter bosses testify to Congress on Russian meddling – live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| This liveblog got under way a little late, so we missed some key exchanges between the lawmakers and tech executives. | |
| Ron Wyden, one of the more tech-savvy senators, spent most of his time discussing the nexus between personal data and national security, saying “personal data is now the weapon of choice for political influence campaigns” and charging tech companies to “not make it easier for our adversaries to seize these weapons and use them against us”. | |
| Wyden also pressed Sandberg on Facebook ads designed to suppress voting – the Trump campaign reportedly targeted African American voters with messages designed to discourage them from voting in the 2016 election. | |
| Sandberg said “that activity has no place on Facebook”, but did not provide any specifics of how Facebook could detect or prohibit such ads, or whether they are technically against the company’s terms of service. | |
| Sandberg also struggled with pointed questions from Kamala Harris, who referenced a 2017 ProPublica report on how Facebook polices content, which revealed that the company treats white men as a protected class but not black children. | |
| The distinction in question stemmed from Facebook’s awkward efforts to define protected classes based on certain characteristics (gender) but not others (age). | |
| “That was badly written policy,” Sandberg said. She claimed that Facebook “fixed it” after publication of the article, but could not provide details. | |
| Sandberg is now off the hook, but Dorsey has another hearing today. He’ll testify before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in a hearing that is likely to focus more on partisan political issues than the one that just concluded. | |
| In his prepared remarks for the House committee, which were published yesterday, Dorsey emphasized Twitter’s neutrality, saying: “Twitter does not use political ideology to make any decisions, whether related to ranking content on our service or how we enforce our rules. We believe strongly in being impartial, and we strive to enforce our rules impartially. We do not shadowban anyone based on political ideology.” | |
| The House committee gets underway at 1:30pm Eastern, and we’ll be following along. | |
| The hearing is adjourned. | The hearing is adjourned. |
| My quick take: This was a fairly congenial hearing, with senators largely emphasizing their desire to work together with tech companies, and Dorsey and Sandberg taking pains to emphasize how much they want to cooperate as well. | My quick take: This was a fairly congenial hearing, with senators largely emphasizing their desire to work together with tech companies, and Dorsey and Sandberg taking pains to emphasize how much they want to cooperate as well. |
| The absence of Google provided a convenient whipping boy for the senators, and a contrast for Dorsey and Sandberg, who got to look transparent and accountable in contrast. | The absence of Google provided a convenient whipping boy for the senators, and a contrast for Dorsey and Sandberg, who got to look transparent and accountable in contrast. |
| Ultimately, there was not much new information, but it was interesting to see Sandberg and Dorsey engage on this stage for the first time. | Ultimately, there was not much new information, but it was interesting to see Sandberg and Dorsey engage on this stage for the first time. |
| Burr is now offering closing remarks. He notes that the Russian influence operation was against the American people, not the American government. | Burr is now offering closing remarks. He notes that the Russian influence operation was against the American people, not the American government. |
| “There is a very human component to this. No single algorithm can fix the problem. Social media is a part of our life. It serves as the family newsletter... Unfortunately other states are now using the Russian playbook. We’re at a critical inflection point. Will using social media to sow discord become an acceptable form of statecraft? Your companies must be at the forefront of combatting those issues.” | “There is a very human component to this. No single algorithm can fix the problem. Social media is a part of our life. It serves as the family newsletter... Unfortunately other states are now using the Russian playbook. We’re at a critical inflection point. Will using social media to sow discord become an acceptable form of statecraft? Your companies must be at the forefront of combatting those issues.” |
| Warner is providing some closing remarks: I think we’re going to see more cases where misinformation actually incites violence. He raises the specter of violence like in Myanmar occurring elsewhere. | Warner is providing some closing remarks: I think we’re going to see more cases where misinformation actually incites violence. He raises the specter of violence like in Myanmar occurring elsewhere. |
| Burr asks Sandberg and Dorsey to let him know if there are ways the government can work better with them. | Burr asks Sandberg and Dorsey to let him know if there are ways the government can work better with them. |
| Reed: Do you believe that your users should have the right to control what you do with their data. | Reed: Do you believe that your users should have the right to control what you do with their data. |
| Sandberg: Yes, very strongly, it’s your information. | Sandberg: Yes, very strongly, it’s your information. |
| (There are many, many caveats to any assurances from Facebook that users have any control over their data. But Sandberg delivers the Facebook talking points much more believably than Mark Zuckerberg does.) | (There are many, many caveats to any assurances from Facebook that users have any control over their data. But Sandberg delivers the Facebook talking points much more believably than Mark Zuckerberg does.) |
| Reed is asking why Twitter doesn’t label bots, which is an issue Warner already brought up. | Reed is asking why Twitter doesn’t label bots, which is an issue Warner already brought up. |
| Dorsey notes that some of the bots are still difficult to identify because they mimic human activity. So if they label some bots, it might fool users into thinking that every account that isn’t labeled is a bot. | Dorsey notes that some of the bots are still difficult to identify because they mimic human activity. So if they label some bots, it might fool users into thinking that every account that isn’t labeled is a bot. |
| Sandberg: We’re committed to working with you on it. | Sandberg: We’re committed to working with you on it. |
| Jack Reed asks if the government is working with them to combat election interference, giving Dorsey and Sandberg a chance to praise them. | Jack Reed asks if the government is working with them to combat election interference, giving Dorsey and Sandberg a chance to praise them. |
| Cotton: Why does Facebook allow Wikileaks and Julian Assange? | Cotton: Why does Facebook allow Wikileaks and Julian Assange? |
| Sandberg: I’m nog going to defend Wikileaks and Julian Assange. Wikileaks is public and it doesn’t violate our terms of service. | Sandberg: I’m nog going to defend Wikileaks and Julian Assange. Wikileaks is public and it doesn’t violate our terms of service. |
| Dorsey: We also haven’t found violations of terms of service, but we are open to law enforcement insight that would tell us that there has been a violation. | Dorsey: We also haven’t found violations of terms of service, but we are open to law enforcement insight that would tell us that there has been a violation. |
| Cotton asks Dorsey if he prefers to see the US remain the dominant world power. | Cotton asks Dorsey if he prefers to see the US remain the dominant world power. |
| Dorsey is dodging that question, and trying to thread a needle of being “consistent” with following its own terms of service when it comes to dealing with government requests. | Dorsey is dodging that question, and trying to thread a needle of being “consistent” with following its own terms of service when it comes to dealing with government requests. |
| Senator Tom Cotton: Both of you should wear it as a badge of honor that you are blocked in China. | Senator Tom Cotton: Both of you should wear it as a badge of honor that you are blocked in China. |
| Cotton criticizes Google for “cooperating” with “the Chinese Communist Party” (via device maker Huawei) while simultaneously reportedly taking steps to build a censored search engine for China and backing away from working on weaponized AI for the US government. | Cotton criticizes Google for “cooperating” with “the Chinese Communist Party” (via device maker Huawei) while simultaneously reportedly taking steps to build a censored search engine for China and backing away from working on weaponized AI for the US government. |
| This is... complicated, and Cotton’s statement is beyond questionable. But Google’s failure to show up for this hearing is allowing Twitter and Facebook to look much more ~patriotic~ than Google. | This is... complicated, and Cotton’s statement is beyond questionable. But Google’s failure to show up for this hearing is allowing Twitter and Facebook to look much more ~patriotic~ than Google. |
| Manchin: But do you all feel any responsibility? | Manchin: But do you all feel any responsibility? |
| He raises the prospect of passing some kind of law akin to SESTA/FOSTA to limit the CDA Section 230 safe harbor clause and make internet platforms more liable for drug sales. | He raises the prospect of passing some kind of law akin to SESTA/FOSTA to limit the CDA Section 230 safe harbor clause and make internet platforms more liable for drug sales. |
| Manchin: Why are you not doing business in China? | Manchin: Why are you not doing business in China? |
| Both say: We are blocked. | Both say: We are blocked. |
| Sandberg: The Chinese government blocked us... In order to go into China we would have to be able to do so without sacrificing our values and that’s not possible to do right now. | Sandberg: The Chinese government blocked us... In order to go into China we would have to be able to do so without sacrificing our values and that’s not possible to do right now. |
| Manchin says that prosecutors are looking to hold drug dealers are responsible for the deaths of drug users. He asks to what extent platforms bear responsibility for deaths of drug users if they die from drugs bought on platform. | Manchin says that prosecutors are looking to hold drug dealers are responsible for the deaths of drug users. He asks to what extent platforms bear responsibility for deaths of drug users if they die from drugs bought on platform. |
| Sandberg and Dorsey are silent for a long moment, before Sandberg jumps in to say that the sale of drugs on the platform is against policy. She then adds that FB is cracking down on predatory drug rehab centers. | Sandberg and Dorsey are silent for a long moment, before Sandberg jumps in to say that the sale of drugs on the platform is against policy. She then adds that FB is cracking down on predatory drug rehab centers. |
| Dorsey: We are looking deeply at how this information and activity spreads so we can shut it down. | Dorsey: We are looking deeply at how this information and activity spreads so we can shut it down. |