Twitter Will Weigh Takedowns; CEO Dorsey Denies Platform Abuse

Twitter is considering releasing historical data to increase transparency about account takedown and suspension decisions, CEO Jack Dorsey told the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday. Dorsey, at a hearing with Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, said the platform might expand its transparency report to include archived suspension data. Transparency is key to calming concerns, he said.

Lawmakers noted the absence of Google, which committee leadership said failed to offer an appropriate top-level executive (see 1809040054). Dorsey also testified in the afternoon about content moderation before the House Commerce Committee, where Republican lawmakers repeatedly accused the platform of anti-conservative bias.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told Dorsey she was targeted by Russian troll accounts on Twitter linked to Russia’s Internet Research Agency. She expressed disappointment that she learned from Clemson University researchers and committee staff rather than from Twitter about 279 Russia-linked tweets that targeted her and reached as many as “360,000 followers.”

Collins told us she’s particularly concerned Twitter lacks a system for notifying users about inauthentic accounts interacting with their feeds, even if the accounts have been suspended or taken down. “It’s not sufficient to say this Twitter account is no longer available,” she told us. “They need to explain why.” Dorsey agreed during the hearing that the mishap was "unacceptable."

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, targeted by the same troll campaign, is pleased Twitter and Facebook participated but said there's more work to do. “I was impressed they were there, they answered questions directly, they admitted errors, and I think it was a very positive hearing,” he told us. Google “should have been there. I’ve talked to officials from Google, and I think their CEO should have been there. It was an important part of the hearing, to have the decision-makers there,” he said.

Jones Sideshow

Throughout the hearing, far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who Twitter recently suspended, shuffled in and out, talking to media outside and criticizing lawmakers. Speaking to reporters, Jones called widespread removal of his InfoWars content from various platforms (see 1808160059) “true authoritarianism.” Later, he interrupted an interview with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “I’m going to have to leave,” Wyden told the media without acknowledging Jones, who told the senator, “You guys have dehumanized me, you act like I don’t exist. Stop violating my First Amendment in those hearings. You guys are a bigger threat than China -- the Democratic Party.” Jones also apparently targeted Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Dorsey and Sandberg.

Wyden told us the thrust of his previously announced data privacy bill will be to raise personal privacy as a national security issue. He's “pleased” Dorsey and Sandberg agreed about the severity of the issue. Shady businesses, hackers and foreign governments threaten data privacy, he told Dorsey and Sandberg.

​​​​​​​DOJ said Wednesday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions will meet with state attorneys general this month to explore “a growing concern that these [tech] companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms.” The agency released the statement after the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. Trump attacked Google and online platforms last month over alleged conservative bias (see 1808280055). He said Google, Facebook and Amazon might be in a “very antitrust” situation.

Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., said Google’s attempt to send Senior Vice President-Global Affairs Kent Walker wasn't the “appropriate level” of corporate leadership. Ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., expressed disappointment in not having a top-level executive. Rubio suggested “maybe Google is arrogant,” while Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., called the company the “invisible” witness.

​​​​​​​A Google spokesman said the platform offered Walker in late July and understood he would be an “acceptable” witness. Walker was on Capitol Hill Wednesday, delivering written testimony to the committee and briefing lawmakers, the spokesman emailed. “Over the last 18 months we’ve met with dozens of Committee Members and briefed major Congressional Committees numerous times on our work to prevent foreign interference in US elections.”

​​​​​​​Warner asked Sandberg if Facebook is willing to formulate a public mechanism for valuing data monetarily, so users know how much their private information is worth. Sandberg acknowledged that Warner proposed that in a recent white paper (see 1808200034) and said the platform is “happy to work with you.”

​​​​​​​Wyden asked Sandberg if Facebook would publicize its third-party audits about data agreements with smart phone manufacturers, a recent revelation that drew the ire of many on the Hill (see 1807020038). The audits were shared with the FTC, she said, but Facebook can’t commit to publicizing them because the “information could help people game the system.”

​​​​​​​Warner asked Dorsey if Twitter users should have the ability to know when interacting with bot accounts, another of the senator's proposal. The company can label accounts and add context when possible, Dorsey said, but there's no exact science for identifying bot accounts. Many of the accounts can trick Twitter into believing they're controlled by humans, he said.

Second Hearing

​​​​​​​During the House Commerce hearing, Dorsey denied his platform is biased against conservatives, saying it's constantly analyzing and trying to balance signals that determine feed rankings.

Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., cited recent reports that accounts of prominent Republican Twitter users -- like Reps. Jim Jordan, Ohio; Matt Gaetz, Florida; and Mark Meadows, North Carolina -- weren't appearing in automatically populated dropdown search results. The platform denied “shadow-banning,” but Walden asked how the algorithms allowed the ranking disparity. Dorsey said the signaling has since been altered. “We will make mistakes along the way,” Dorsey said. “We could have done a better job.”

​​​​​​​Democratic lawmakers dismissed Republican claims. Ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., called it a “desperate attempt” to rally voter bases heading into elections. He asked how Trump can criticize Twitter for conservative bias when he uses the platform widely to deliver “juvenile tweets” and spread false information.

​​​​​​​Dorsey said Twitter is constantly examining whether the conversation there is factual and balanced and is working with external groups to ensure that. There's much confusion around the company's rules and enforcement, and it needs to fix that, he said.

​​​​​​​Jones also spoke to media outside the House Commerce hearing​​​​​​​. One woman interrupted the hearing, while shouting, holding a selfie stick and calling Dorsey a “liar” for his denial that Twitter intentionally censors conservative voices. She was escorted from the room by police after refusing Walden’s call for order.