Twitter CEO Dorsey Will Testify to Congress About Platform's Algorithm, Moderation Policies

Twitter and other social platforms have been drawing increased criticism over their nebulous content moderation policies

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will testify before House members next month about the social platform's algorithms and content moderation.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) released a statement Friday that said Dorsey will testify before the committee Sept. 5, which is the same day Dorsey is scheduled to speak in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"When decisions about data and content are made using opaque processes, the American people are right to raise concerns," Walden's statement said. "This committee intends to ask tough questions about how Twitter monitors and polices content."

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) expressed concern about "one-sided conversations" and said transparency will be the only way to ensure conservative-leaning voices are not suppressed.

McCarthy said he sees "more and more examples of censorship that impact public officials and concerned citizens expressing conservative thought."

President Donald Trump has weighed in as well, broadly accusing social media companies, via Twitter, of silencing "millions of people."

According to NBC News, Twitter had scheduled a meeting with other big tech firms for Friday to discuss plans for the upcoming midterm elections.

The meeting was intended to establish more connections among the companies  in hopes of sharing more information about cybersecurity threats.

Twitter, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Snapchat were among a dozen companies invited to the meeting at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.

Several of the companies in recent weeks have made announcements about malicious actors from Iran, Russia and elsewhere using the platforms for coordinated propaganda campaigns. Hundreds of accounts associated with these campaigns were removed from Facebook, Twitter and other social sites. 

The companies' policies regarding moderation of false information and hate speech has also been drawing increased focus recently. Alex Jones of Infowars was one high-profile target of the platforms' more aggressive policing of where, or if, certain content appears on the sites. Jones has repeatedly reported outlandish conspiracy theories as fact, including his persistent belief that the massacre of school children at Sandy Hook Elementary School was staged.

Despite the scrutiny, tech companies have been the highest-performing sector in the market this year.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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