Here's what Facebook, Twitter, Google CEOs said ahead of congressional hearing

Ahead of a key congressional hearing, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out steps to reform a key internet law and said that companies should have immunity from liability only if they follow best practices for removing damaging material from their platforms. According to Bloomberg, in testimony prepared for a joint hearing before two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees on March 25, Zuckerberg said he supports reforming the measure, known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. However, he also called for making liability protection for internet platforms conditional on having systems in place for identifying and removing unlawful material. 

Zuckerberg said that the liability shield would benefit from thoughtful changes to make it work better for people, but identifying a way forward is challenging given the chorus of people arguing - sometimes for contradictory reasons - that the law is doing more harm than good. The Facebook CEO added that platforms should not be held liable if a particular piece of content evades its detection - that would be impractical for platforms with billions of posts per day. According to Zuckerberg’s proposal, a third party would determine whether the company’s systems are adequate enough to handle the load. 

Twitter, Google’s testimony 

It is worth mentioning that Thursday’s hearing titled 'Disinformation Nation: Social media's role in promoting extremism and misinformation' is designed to address concerns Democrats have had about the spread of misinformation during the coronavirus pandemic and the presidential election. Apart from Zuckerberg, the chief executives of Google and Twitter will also testify at the hearing. According to their testimony, while Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey defended the company’s handling of misinformation, Google’s Sudar Pichai, on the other hand, remains averse to any changes to the legal shield.

In his written testimony, Pichai said signalled that he is opposed to any changes to the law. He said that reforming it or repealing it altogether would have unintended consequences - harming both free expression and the ability of platforms to take responsible action to protect users in the face of constantly evolving challenges. As per reports, Pichai wants companies to focus on developing content policies that are clear and accessible, such as notifying users if their work is removed and giving them ways to appeal such decisions. 

Dorsey, on the other hand, touted the company’s decisions to apply labels to misleading posts about the vaccine and the election. He warned that content moderation in isolation is not scalable, and that simply removing content fails to meet the challenges of the modern internet. Dorsey also noted that Twitter’s policies are primarily built around the promotion and protection of three fundamental human rights -- freedom of expression, safety, and privacy. 

(Image: AP)