Google to Testify Before House Judiciary Committee
The House Judiciary Committee expects to host Google at a hearing later this year, an aide told us Thursday. She didn't say whether testimony will come from CEO Sundar Pichai, who is to visit the Hill this week to speak with lawmakers from both chambers (see 1809250050). The aide said Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., was part of a group of House lawmakers scheduled to meet with Google Friday and referred further questions to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, told us he was to meet with Pichai Thursday. Asked Thursday, Goodlatte declined to comment about who will testify for Google. A Google spokesperson cited a previous statement from Pichai saying he looks forward to working with members of both parties without committing to testifying.
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The House Constitution and Civil Justice Subcommittee held a hearing Thursday with academics and social media pundits. Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., dismissed the hearing as a “waste of time” spent on Republicans’ false claim that Silicon Valley, including Google, is biased against conservatives. Republicans said witness testimony showed their claims are warranted. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told us after the hearing he found the debate “fascinating”: “We’re at the end of the session. Nothing is going to be able to get passed, but hey, I’m a law professor. I love hearings like that.”
Most lawmakers exited before the second panel, with only subcommittee Chairman Steve King, R-Iowa, and Raskin remaining. Nadler left immediately after his opening remarks, and Goodlatte and Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., left shortly after their questioning. Thursday was Judiciary’s third hearing on the topic.
Goodlatte accused the minority of trying to dismiss conservative voices before the committee, equating it to political censorship. The Gateway Pundit founder Jim Hoft told the panel that leading up to the 2016 election, Americans could choose what they read on Facebook. Today, he said, Facebook chooses what content users see, saying he was “effectively disappeared” from the platform. Social media websites need ample competition so all voices are heard, he said. Asked for comment, a Facebook spokesperson cited recent House Judiciary Committee testimony from Vice President-Global Policy Management Monika Bickert, who defended the platform’s algorithms (see 1807170043). Boston Herald columnist Adriana Cohen said she has more than 16,000 followers, and many regularly tell her her columns and tweets don’t appear on their Twitter feeds. Twitter didn’t comment.
Raskin hammered Hoft on why Facebook shouldn’t be allowed the same freedom to control its programming as Fox or CNN. Hoft said on Facebook you don’t get to choose what channel you’re viewing. Nadler said during his opening remarks even if the platforms are in fact biased, which he said is a baseless claim, they are private companies and are allowed to promote any political views they choose, just like radio and TV content providers. Nadler suggested the committee spend its time on something more worthwhile like Russian misinformation campaigns on social media. He accused Hoft of spreading false information and calling individuals associated with the victims of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting “crisis actors.” New York Law School professor Ari Waldman said if conservatives want to stop being blocked, they should stop violating platform policy with their behavior.
Hoft said his outlet never used the term “crisis actors,” which has falsely been repeated in the mainstream media. He cited a Gateway Pundit story claiming an anti-gun group representative looked like he was coached during an interview after the shooting.