Tech CEOs have a standing invitation to testify on Capitol Hill
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is likely “very open” to testifying on Capitol Hill, according to Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who met the tech titan behind closed doors on Thursday.
Walden is offering a standing invitation to social media and big tech CEOs to appear in front of Congress to help lawmakers better understand their online platforms and priv
In light of Facebook’s recent scandals, in which the British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica misused the personal information of at least 87 million users during the 2016 presidential election, the Oregon Republican said he believes it’s necessary for Congress to understand what social media companies are doing -- or aren’t doing -- to protect users’ privacy.
“My point is, coming before you’re under investigation or [involved] in some scandal,” he told FOX Business’ Stuart Varney during an interview on Friday. “Help us better understand how your platforms work, what your goals are, what you’re doing to help protect Americans’ privacy, and give us good guidance on what that public policy should be.”
Following public knowledge of Facebook’s data breach, CEO Mark Zuckerberg underwent two rounds of intense questioning on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers focused heavily on privacy and political bias concerns.
Although he accepted full responsibility for the scandal, Zuckerberg was hesitant to commit to any specific regulation or solutions intended to curtail future data privacy violations proposed by members of Congress this week. And while Walden said he would prefer to have the private sector govern itself by responding to the American consumers’ wants, he said most people want some type of legislation put in place to avoid future privacy issues.
“Americans want Congress to act in this space,” Walden said, adding, “They do expect the entire internet ecosystem to live under a set of rules that are transparent, where they have more authority over their own data.”
Cambridge Analytica filed for bankruptcy on Thursday.