Senate Commerce Votes Unanimously to Subpoena Big Tech CEOs

The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously voted Thursday to issue subpoenas to Facebook, Google and Twitter for testimony from CEOs Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey (see 2009250037). The vote was a “big, bipartisan signal to Big Tech,” Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told us, saying there’s agreement that Communications Decency Act Section 230 is “overdue for a makeover.” During Thursday’s executive session, Democrats suggested the hearing be held after the November election to avoid any influence over platform election content.

The hearing shouldn’t be a tool for partisan speech policing or trying to “game the refs,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told us. Ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., initially objected last week to issuing the subpoenas. Asked about hesitation from Democrats, Blumenthal said, “We talked it through.” The CEOs need to give a full accounting of content moderation practices, Wicker said during the hearing: Section 230 has allowed the internet to flourish, but sweeping liability protections are stifling the “true diversity of political discourse.”

“I can’t wait to ask Mr. Zuckerberg further questions,” Cantwell said, citing privacy and media consolidation issues and crediting the chairman for adding those as discussion points in the potential subpoenas. She welcomed a debate on Section 230 but said she’s not sure a “long and thoughtful process” can occur before the election. The companies didn’t comment.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, raised concerns about Big Tech’s monopoly power and its ability to inject political bias. The tech industry is the single biggest threat to free speech and democracy, he said. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., agreed with Cantwell that media consolidation is a major issue and about the need to protect smaller news organizations. She also agreed with Cruz about Big Tech’s monopoly power, but she denied social media political bias is an issue. There need to be investigations, and Facebook’s Instagram and WhatsApp deals should be reversed, she said.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., agreed with Klobuchar about reviewing Big Tech acquisitions, how they were handled and why they were approved. She said Zuckerberg’s comment that Facebook works more like a government than a corporation was “chilling.” Blumenthal cautioned the committee’s focus should be on monopolistic power and privacy threats. He urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to hold a vote this or next week on the Earn It Act (see 2008050039), his bill with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., agreed on the need to look at monopolistic power. He also raised issues about political bias, and urged support for the Pact Act (see 2007280053), which he said would provide increased transparency.

Political bias isn’t a legitimate issue, said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii: That’s where the bipartisanship stops. Any Section 230 effort driven by that motivation seems like an attempt to “work the refs” weeks before the election, he said. He welcomed “good faith” efforts to amend Section 230. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., criticized Wicker for threatening to issue subpoenas a month before the election without “fully working” with Cantwell. He urged the chairman to work more collaboratively with the ranking member to maintain proper committee process.