Members of the House special committee cited tweets from Trump that incited supporters to storm the Capitol and testimony from a former Twitter employee who said their internal warnings about the potential for violence were largely ignored.
“The creation of the Internet and social media has given today’s tyrants tools of propaganda and disinformation that yesterday’s despots could only have dreamed of.” Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) said in his opening remarks at the panel’s seventh hearing.
The session provided the first public window into witness statements the panel has received from social media staffers and may offer a preview of other damaging testimony the commission will eventually present.
The former staffer, whose voice and identity the committee blacked out, said they believed Twitter went easy on Trump for years because he “enjoyed” the “power” of being his preferred platform.
“If former President Donald Trump was any other Twitter user, he would have been permanently suspended a long time ago,” the witness said in pre-recorded testimony.
Twitter permanently suspended Trump two days after the uprising, citing concerns that he could incite further violence in the real world.
But for years the platform faced criticism for its handling of its account, including a policy that allowed some tweets from world leaders that would otherwise violate its rules to stand.
Raskin said the former employee testified that Twitter “had considered adopting a stricter content moderation policy” after Trump told the extremist group Proud Boys to “stand and stand by” during a presidential debate — but ultimately decided against him.
“My concern was that the former president for the first time was apparently speaking directly to extremist organizations and giving them directives,” the witness said. “We haven’t seen that kind of direct communication before, and that bothered me.”
Jessica Herrera-FlaniganTwitter’s vice president of public policy for the Americas said in a statement that the company is “clear-eyed about our role in the broader information ecosystem” regarding the Jan. 6 attack, but that it “took unprecedented steps and invested significant resources to prepare for and respond to threats that emerged” during the 2020 elections.
Twitter has put in place “numerous policy and product interventions to protect the public conversation,” including declaring the Proud Boys a violent extremist group in 2018 and permanently suspending accounts linked to the group and the Jan. 6 attack, she said.
Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) said the panel learned that, the day before the uprising, “there were serious concerns on Twitter about the anticipated violence.”
“For months I’ve been praying and predicting and trying to bring up the reality that … if we didn’t intervene in what I saw happening, people were going to die,” the former employee said.
They added, “On January 5, I realized that no intervention was coming.”
“Today’s shocking whistleblower testimony confirms what many of us have known for years: Big Tech has repeatedly failed to curb calls to violence on their platforms,” it said. Nora Benavidezsenior counsel and director of digital justice and civil rights for the advocacy group Free Press.
While previous hearings have touched on Trump’s tweets, none have spent significant time on how the social media companies’ content decisions affected the attack.
The evidence is likely to be only part of the testimony the panel received about how social networks, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, shaped January 6.
The committee has subpoenaed major social media platforms for a series of documents related to their policies and handling of content related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. The panel has also asked experts for research into the role of social media in the attack, as we reported.
But little has come to light about the committee’s plans for that information — until now.
Twitter is suing Elon Musk, setting off an epic legal battle
The lawsuit, which aims to force the billionaire to follow through on his promise to buy the company for $44 billion, marks “the first legal volley in what is expected to be one of the most high-profile business trials in recent history.” my colleagues Elizabeth Dwoskin AND Rachel Lerman report.
“After staging a public spectacle to mock Twitter, and after proposing and then signing an amicable merger agreement with the vendor, Musk apparently believes that he — unlike any other party subject to Delaware contract law -it — is free to change its mind, dump the company, cease its operations, destroy shareholder value and walk away,” the company wrote in its lawsuit.
“Experts said they expected months of agonizing legal drama to play out in Delaware’s Court of Chancery, a small, quirky court that has decided the outcomes of some of the biggest business disputes in the US,” my colleagues wrote. . “The suit is likely to subject Twitter to a grueling level of public scrutiny, forcing the platform to open its books and expose internal discussions in ways that could further damage its stock price and reputation.”
The FTC ranking sank in an annual survey of workers during Khan’s first year.
The agency has long advertised that it ranks at the top of mid-sized government agencies, my colleague Zakrzewski the cat reports. But in the latest ranking, the Federal Trade Commission dropped to 22nd on the list.
The ratings were published as Chairman Lina Khan ends her first year in office, which has been plagued by limited resources and an ever-expanding political agenda. Her ability to follow through on her big promises to transform technology regulation and improve the agency depends on the morale of her staff.
“I can’t think of a manager on the planet who wouldn’t worry about that kind of reaction,” he said William E. Kovacic, a former Republican chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. “You need the willing and devoted support of your people, or you cannot do the bold things you want to do.”
Khan outlined steps he was taking to strengthen communication and feedback within the agency and began a listening tour with individual employees. She is also encouraging staff to submit anonymous tips to her.
Federal court strikes down FCC rules on foreign broadcast sponsors
A federal court struck down Federal Communications Commission rules requiring broadcasters to verify whether a foreign government paid a station to broadcast material, Reuters’ David Shepardson reports.
“FCC May Not Require Broadcasters to Check Federal Sources to Verify Sponsors’ Identities,” Judge Justin Walker of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia wrote for the three-judge panel.
The National Association of Broadcasters trade group challenged the FCC’s rules requiring broadcasters to independently vet sponsors, arguing they place a “heavy” burden on broadcasters. In response to the decision, the Chairman of the FCC Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement Tuesday, “Consumers deserve to trust that the public airwaves are not being leased to private foreign actors without their knowledge.”
Rosenworcel told The Technology 202 in March that the dispute had “taken on new importance” in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which raised scrutiny of social media platforms, streaming platforms and broadcast networks that carried Russian propaganda.
The Twitter lawsuit against Musk was filled with memes the mercurial billionaire has posted about the legal saga.
The Verge’s Alex Heath:
CNBC Contributor Alex Kantrowitzwho earlier predicted that Twitter would submit a missing Musk emoji tweeted as evidence:
The Verge’s Adi Robertson:
The only silver lining to this case is the prospect of lawyers dragging out detailed explanations for Elon’s meme posts in a courtroom https://t.co/RKno3ZSkKM
— Adi Robertson (@thedextriarchy) July 12, 2022
The Treasury Department Wants to Hear Your Thoughts on Crypto (Protocol)
Intel: Will delay Ohio plant without federal funding (Axios)
Amazon gave Ring videos to police without owners’ permission (Politico)
Hunter Biden’s phone hack claims to test platforms’ disinformation policies (The Verge)
Elon Musk’s bid to end Twitter deal puts pressure on CFO (Wall Street Journal)
Elon Musk’s Twitter battle ignites online right-wing agitators (The Verge)
Companies want DOJ’s Apple probe to escalate (Axios)
Microsoft Goes Offensive in Europe to Fight Cloud Concerns (Wall Street Journal)
Amazon issued 13,000 disciplinary notices at a single US warehouse (Reuters)
NASA unveils first images from James Webb Space Telescope (The Washington Post)
- Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) and executives from Amazon and Google speak at an event hosted by the Information Technology Industry Council today at 11 a.m.
- Consumer advocates discuss Europe’s Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act at an event on Thursday at 9am.
- Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Su discusses technology and the future of work at a Washington Post Live event Thursday at noon.
- Brian Deesewho heads the White House National Economic Council, discusses the White House Competitiveness Council at an Aspen Institute event Thursday at 3 p.m.
- Federal Trade Commissioner Noah Phillipsa Republican, speaks at an American Enterprise Institute event on the consumer welfare standard Monday at 1:30 p.m.
- CEO of Patreon Jack Conte discusses the maker economy at a Washington Post Live event Monday at 4 p.m
that‘That’s all for today – thank you so much for joining us! Be sure to tell others to subscribe of technology 202 here. Get in touch with tips, comments or greetings I tweet or email.
