Let a member of Congress make Mark Zuckerberg look identifiable.
Opening remarks at Wednesday’s House antitrust hearing had barely cooled down when Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin accused Facebook of temporarily suspending the Donald Trump, Jr. account. There was just one problem, which the Facebook CEO did not He wasted time boarding: Congressman Sensenbrenner had mistaken Facebook for Twitter.
That’s right, it was not Facebook who took the described action against the president’s son for sharing dangerous information about the coronavirus. Rather, it was Twitter who briefly suspended Trump Jr. for sharing a video promoting the drug hydroxychloroquine and suggesting that no masks are needed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“I think what you’re referring to happened on Twitter.”
But apparently nobody said that to Congressman Sensenbrenner, who, at the antitrust hearing, seemed obsessed with the unfounded claim that Facebook censors conservatives.
“Donald Trump, Jr. was reported to be retired for a period of time because he put something on the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine,” Sensenbrenner told Zuckerberg. “Now, I would not take it myself, but there is still debate about whether it is effective in treating or preventing COVID-19, and I think this is a legitimate topic of discussion and would be up to a patient and their doctor to determine whether hydroxychloroquine it was the right medication, you know, under the circumstances. Why did that happen? “
Congressman Sensenbrenner is really trying to miss the point.
Image: screenshot / house court hearing
Zuckerberg, probably relieved that he didn’t have to address any of the substantive antitrust arguments against his company, took it upon himself to patiently explain why Donald Trump, Jr. had been suspended from Twitter.
“The congressman, well, first to be clear, I think what he could be referring to happened on Twitter, so it’s difficult for me to talk about that,” replied the Facebook CEO. “But I can talk to our policies about this. We ban content that will lead to imminent risk of harm, and declaring that there is a proven cure for COVID, when it doesn’t actually exist, could encourage someone to take something that could have some effects adverse. “
To clarify the point, Zuckerberg added that Facebook would remove content that promises an unproven cure for COVID-19.
“So we removed it,” explained the CEO, clearly exasperated. “We don’t ban discussion about drug trials, or people who say they think things might work, or personal experiences with experimental drugs. But if someone is going to say that something is proven, when in fact it isn’t, then it could lead people to make a decision about their health. ”
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In fact, the deceptive viral video in question was viewed 17 million times on Facebook before being removed by Facebook. However, versions of him were still shared on Instagram, owned by Facebook, until yesterday.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, meanwhile, did not attend the hearing. Perhaps, instead, he is spending the day drinking salt juice in his EMF armored store.
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