Social media monopolizing speech? Big Tech giants hearing imminent, Bill Gates: Lies spread faster than facts
Yesterday on the 28th, Donald Trump Jr., the son of U.S. President Trump, had his Twitter account temporarily suspended for spreading misinformation. This was due to his posting a misleading video on Twitter claiming that "masks are not needed." According to CNN, President Trump also retweeted the video, but he was not suspended as he was not the original uploader.
Given the sensitive timing with the upcoming presidential election, Andrew Surabian, a Republican consultant and spokesperson for Trump Jr., stated that Twitter's actions show that major tech companies pose the biggest threat to freedom of speech in the U.S. and are openly intervening in the elections. Twitter, on the other hand, stated that the video contained incorrect information about the pandemic, violating Twitter's rules, so the post had to be removed, and Trump Jr.'s account was only temporarily suspended for 12 hours.
Continuing to monitor the friction between U.S. tech giants (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) and their users, Trump has even issued executive orders this year holding social media platforms accountable for content moderation due to restricted speech. What might be a better solution for the freedom and governance of online speech? Bill Gates recently made some remarks on this issue:
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This account has not been permanently suspended. Per the screenshot, the Tweet requires deletion because it violates our rules (sharing misinformation on COVID-19), and the account will have limited functionality for 12 hours. More in our rules: https://t.co/0wHWVV5QS4 https://t.co/0gq7rlaNw7
— Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) July 28, 2020
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Big Tech Social Media Dilemma: Lies Spread Faster Than Facts
CNBC's interview this week with philanthropist Bill Gates revealed:
"When people are communicating, the fact you have to face is that certain disturbing false things can spread faster than the truth. We've seen this a lot with vaccines."
For social media platforms, managing and addressing this information is not easy. Gates mentioned the challenge these rapid-spreading negative messages pose for companies like Facebook and Twitter. These companies struggle to monitor what is being said on their platforms, determine when something is completely false, and then remove or slow down its spread.
Previous reports indicated that Twitter directly handles such information by banning, hiding, or labeling false content, with judgments made by officials. On the other hand, Facebook takes a more lenient approach, actively filtering content and establishing a third-party content oversight board. However, many still criticize Facebook, such as companies like Coca-Cola, for its perceived leniency towards racial speech, leading to joint boycotts.
Gates also pointed out that WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, after implementing message encryption, cannot even see negative comments on the platform. He stated, "In an irresponsible way, they've made the platform opaque. Whether it's anti-vaccine or child pornography, they can't intervene."
Government Underestimates the Power of Technological Innovation
Gates mentioned his participation in the antitrust hearings of tech giants Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Apple, emphasizing the inherently competitive nature of the tech industry. He believes that it is not the government allowing these tech giants to thrive but rather people underestimating their competitive power. Even without strict regulation, technology will continue to innovate.
Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Apple: Big Tech All-Star Hearing
On July 29th at noon EST (early hours of July 30th in Taiwan), the U.S. House Judiciary Committee will hold a high-profile hearing involving top billionaires, including Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos (net worth $171.6 billion), Google's CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple's CEO Tim Cook, and Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg. These internet giants' CEOs will take turns defending whether their businesses violate antitrust laws, addressing issues such as privacy violations, abuse of power, and political interference.
Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey, who often attracts attention, has been suggested to participate in the hearing, although his attendance is not confirmed.