Technology bosses accused of bias by US Republicans

Twitter boss Jack Dorsey appeared virtually to discuss whether a law that shields his platform from legal responsibility for what users post should be revoked

Republicans attacked Google, Facebook and Twitter for being “biased” against President Donald Trump during a tense virtual Senate hearing on Wednesday. 

The politicians repeatedly accused chief executives at the technology companies of double standards for editing, deleting or fact-checking Mr Trump’s posts, while allowing harmful hate speech to remain on their services.  

Mr Dorsey, who appeared sporting a long, wispy beard, sparked wrath after claiming that Twitter did not have the power to influence elections.

The social network has become a direct line for politicians to voters and followers around the world, including President Donald Trump who is renowned for tweeting several times a day. 

Under Mr Dorsey’s leadership, the company has introduced several rules around what can and can’t be posted on the social network over concerns that they could be used to influence voters and impact democracy. It has added several fact-checking labels to Mr Trump’s tweets including a post about postal voting. 

Twitter’s decision to block users from sharing a controversial New York Post article about Hunter Biden, and locking the newspaper’s Twitter account, was recent evidence of political bias, Senator Ted Cruz claimed. 

Mr Cruz said: “Mr Dorsey, who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report and what the American people are allowed to hear."

He accused Mr Dorsey of double standards for blocking the story because it was allegedly obtained through criminal means and allowing a New York Times article about Donald Trump’s tax returns to remain. 

Twitter said it suppressed the New York Post article because it allegedly contained hacked material. Mr Cruz pointed out that the New York Times article used an individual’s tax returns, the publication of which is also illegal in the US. 

He said: “I find that highly dubious and clearly employed in a deeply partial way…when the article was critical of Joe Biden Twitter engaged in rampant censorship and silencing”. 

Mr Dorsey agreed that Twitter had made a mistake on the New York Post article but disagreed that the New York Times should have been blocked.

Mr Zuckerberg said that Facebook stood for “free expression and to be a platform for all ideas” but admitted that it “is a big company and mistakes are made from time to time”. 

Mr Trump and several Republican politicians, including Mr Cruz, have dangled the threat of repealing Section 230, a digital law that grants the companies immunity from responsibility for what users post on their services if the companies do not cease alleged "censoring" of voices on the right. Without s230, big tech and other smaller internet companies could face an onslaught of lawsuits.

Democrat Senators dismissed the hearing and politicising of s230, just six days before the presidential election, as a “sham” and “cheap stunt” to pressure social networks into allowing voting misinformation to remain online.