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Twitter's Jack Dorsey faces more questions as Google snubs Congress – live Twitter's Jack Dorsey faces more questions as Google snubs Congress – live
(35 minutes later)
Markwayne Mullin asks Dorey if he’s conservative, liberal, socialist or what.
Dorsey says he tries to focus on the issues. He’s a registered independent, he says.
Ryan Costello asks for a complete accounting of “all of the signals” that the Twitter algorithm uses.
Dorsey says that it can’t really, because they change all the time.
Rush: Do you consider President Trump’s tweets to be abusive at all?
Dorsey says that all accounts are held to the same standard, but that the company weighs public interest when it comes to enforcement.
This is the policy the wrote to provide themselves an excuse not to have to censor world leaders, which would be a minefield.
Bobby Rush is going back to the Frank Pallone’s questions about a civil rights audit. Now he’s asking about Twitter being used to organize violence.
Raul Ruiz of California says that we’re in the home stretch. He’s bearing down on the number of fake accounts on Twitter, for some reason that is unclear.
Buchshon asks about the diversity of the workforce.Buchshon asks about the diversity of the workforce.
Dorsey says that Twitter recognizes that it needs to decentralize out of San Francisco, mentioning how expensive it is. He says he’s excited to be a more “distributed” company.Dorsey says that Twitter recognizes that it needs to decentralize out of San Francisco, mentioning how expensive it is. He says he’s excited to be a more “distributed” company.
Larry Bucshon asks if the algorithms are publicly available to be reviewed for bias.Larry Bucshon asks if the algorithms are publicly available to be reviewed for bias.
Dorsey: Not today, but says he’s open to more transparency.Dorsey: Not today, but says he’s open to more transparency.
Long is now discussing the tweets that get sent to him by email from Twitter. He was sent “highlights” emails of tweets, and he is reading the names of the accounts whose tweets are included. They are mostly political reporters.Long is now discussing the tweets that get sent to him by email from Twitter. He was sent “highlights” emails of tweets, and he is reading the names of the accounts whose tweets are included. They are mostly political reporters.
I think the implication here is that there aren’t enough Republicans included.I think the implication here is that there aren’t enough Republicans included.
“They’re all pretty much Trump bashing,” he says.“They’re all pretty much Trump bashing,” he says.
Dorsey: It doesn’t sound like we served you well in matching your interests.Dorsey: It doesn’t sound like we served you well in matching your interests.
Billy Long of Missouri is praising Dorsey for his mannerisms and comportment. So that’s nice.Billy Long of Missouri is praising Dorsey for his mannerisms and comportment. So that’s nice.
Paul Tonko is criticizing Twitter’s election advertising system in comparison to Facebook’s. Dorsey says that it’s a work in progress.Paul Tonko is criticizing Twitter’s election advertising system in comparison to Facebook’s. Dorsey says that it’s a work in progress.
Bill Johnson of Ohio is talking about algorithms as being like art. Do you do peer reviews of algorithms?Bill Johnson of Ohio is talking about algorithms as being like art. Do you do peer reviews of algorithms?
Dorsey: Yes.Dorsey: Yes.
Johnson: Can’t you modify your algorithms to be more intelligent on alerting certain things? Is it unreasonable to think that Twitter could not modify its algorithms to hit on illegal drug sales?Johnson: Can’t you modify your algorithms to be more intelligent on alerting certain things? Is it unreasonable to think that Twitter could not modify its algorithms to hit on illegal drug sales?
Dorsey: Not unreasonable at all, it’s just a matter of work.Dorsey: Not unreasonable at all, it’s just a matter of work.
Debbie Dingell asks about the datasets that are used to train Twitter’s AI and what kind of explainability its algorithms have.
Dorsey seems kind of excited to get some different questions, but he doesn’t directly answer them.
Gus Bilirakis is raising concerns about school threats on Twitter. It is a bit rich that a pro-gun Floridian congressman with an “A” rating from the NRA would be raising the issue of school safety with a social media company, but here we are.
Scott Peters of California says that Twitter has “democratized democracy” which makes about as much sense as most of the other comments in this hearing, which is heading toward its third hour.
Morgan Griffith of Virginia also wants to talk about drug sales on social media.
Dorsey says that the company is really focusing on foreign interference in elections.
Tony Cardenas also wants to talk about online bullying. He mentions Melania Trump’s campaign against cyberbullying, and takes a shot at Donald Trump.
As with most of the issues here, however, Twitter is certainly not the most important platform to talk about cyberbullying with.
According to Pew, US teenagers are vastly more likely to be using YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.
A lot of Democrats are trying to bait Dorsey into calling out the Republicans for bad faith, but he’s not biting.
Joe Kennedy: Why do you outsource reporting abuse to users?
Dorsey: Well, we don’t feel great about it.
David Loebsack of Iowa wants to talk about the use of social media by teenagers and concerns about harassment and cyberbullying. He asks if they are making any changes for young users.
David McKinley of West Virginia is asking whether Twitter takes responsibility for the opioid crisis, referencing a study showing illegal drug ads. He references an ad for cocaine that went up in the last hour.
“I would be ashamed if I were you,” he says.
Lujan is now pointing out that Congress hasn’t actually passed any laws relating to Russian interference, Cambridge Analytica, or the Equifax breach and that this hearing might be a bit of a waste of time.