The House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing Thursday on online censorship to examine “social media filtering and policing practices,” a press release states.
“This hearing will focus on what metrics social media platforms use to moderate content, how filtering decisions are made, and whether viewpoints have been silenced on some of the most popular and widely used platforms.”
There will be a series of three panels featuring a number of witnesses including Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and Diamond and Silk, the pro-Trump, online personalities who’s alleged censorship by Facebook was raised during questioning of Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg earlier this month on Capitol Hill. (Zuckerberg said that while mistakes can be made, Facebook’s censorship was targeted at weeding out terrorism.)
According to the committee’s website, Thursday’s schedule is as follows:
Panel I:
- The Honorable Marsha Blackburn, 7th District of Tennessee, United States House of Representatives
Panel II:
- Facebook (invited)
- Google (invited)
- Twitter (invited)
Panel III:
- Diamond and Silk, Social Media Personalities
- Ms. Corynne McSherry, Legal Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Mr. David Chavern, Chief Executive Officer, News Media Alliance
It is unclear whether representatives from Facebook, Google, or Twitter will attend.
Trump Campaign Manager Brad Parscale has called on social media companies to maintain lists of blocked or banned posts and users.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) issued the following statement in advance of the hearing:
“The advent of social media has made it possible for people to connect across continents, explore vast amounts of information, and share meaningful dialogue with friends and strangers. However, this same technology can be used to suppress a particular viewpoint and manipulate public opinion. I look forward to hearing from a wide variety of experts at our hearing to discuss the free speech implications of social media filtering.”
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. Eastern and can be watched live here (a player will appear above) or on Breitbart’s Facebook.
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