A Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing held yesterday had the opportunity to be a reprieve.
In contrast to previous congressional hearings that have been little more than opportunities for legislators to verbally pummel big tech execs, this latest hearing on the impact of social media algorithms was designed to be more substantive, providing insight into how the platforms’ systems work to amplify harmful content. At least that was the aim.
Instead, senators on both sides of the aisle criticized public policy executives from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube about the negative effects of their firms’ data-fueled, advertising-supported business models and questioned whether the sheer scale and dominance of their platforms foster perverse goals inspiring technical decisions that promote engagement with content that ultimately harms people and society. Meanwhile, the platforms’ executives shied away from sharing any fresh insights into how their algorithms operate.