US senate votes to subpoena tech bosses to testify
US tech bosses will be hauled in front of congress after a senate committee voted to compel them to testify.
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai and Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey will be questioned on reforming Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
The act shields social media firms from liability over content posted by users.
The will also be quizzed on privacy and competition concerns after the US Senate Commerce Committee unanimously voted to subpoena the tech bosses.
The committee, chaired by Republican senator Roger Wicker, had originally asked the executives to come today on a voluntary basis and was ready to issue subpoenas last week.
On Thursday, he said Section 230’s “sweeping liability protections” are stifling diversity of political discourse on the internet.
“After extending an invite to these executives, I regret that they have again declined to participate and answer questions about issues that are so visible and urgent to the American people,” Wicker said.
The chief executives of Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon recently testified before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel.
The panel, which is investigating how the companies’ practices hurt rivals, is expected to release its report as early as next Monday.