WASHINGTON – Retired Wisconsin Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner had some harsh words Thursday for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg about why Donald Trump Jr.’s account was temporarily suspended for sharing a hydroxychloroquine video.
The only problem is that it happened on Twitter.
The awkward exchange came during an antitrust hearing in which CEOs of big tech companies like Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google were brought before lawmakers for a barbecue in Congress.
Republican lawmakers like Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Sensenbrenner lashed out at CEOs for selective censorship and double standards where posts by conservatives, including President Trump, have been silenced or restricted on social media. “Conservatives”.
Sensenbrenner, 77, was particularly upset that Twitter this week temporarily suspended the account of the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., after he shared a viral video that allegedly contained misleading information about the hydroxychloroquine drug.
“Donald Trump Jr. was reported to be retired for a period of time because he put something on the effectiveness of the hydrochloride,” Sensenbrenner said, before considering whether he would take it himself.
“Why did that happen?” I ask.
“The congressman, well, to be clear, I think what you are referring to happened on Twitter,” Zuckerberg replied. “So it’s hard for me to talk about it, but I can talk to our policies about it.”
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey declined an invitation to testify at the hearing, Jordan said. Recent actions by its social media platform, where it has branded the president’s tweets as misinformation or incitement to violence, have sparked conservatives and freedom of expression advocates alike.
The president himself has tried to weaken legal liability protections for social media companies, signing an executive order in May that will hold tech giants accountable for the content they post.
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