TWITTER DOES NOT operate on the basis of “political ideology” its CEO Jack Dorsey has said, rejecting claims of bias against conservatives.
Dorsey appeared before the US Senate’s House Energy and Commerce committee to answer questions about foreign influence operations on social media as well as accusations of political bias.
“Twitter does not use political ideology to make any decisions, whether related to ranking content on our service or how we enforce our rules,” Dorsey said in remarks to a congressional hearing, which also heard from Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.
“We believe strongly in being impartial, and we strive to enforce our rules impartially.”
He added that Twitter was committed to rooting out abusive activity and “hostile foreign influence”.
“The purpose of Twitter is to serve the public conversation, and we do not make value judgments on personal beliefs,” Dorsey said.
His comments come days after President Donald Trump accused technology firms of “censorship” and suppressing conservative voices.
Senator Mark Warner told the hearing that social media firms “were caught flat-footed by the brazen attacks on our election” and questioned whether Silicon Valley is capable of confronting the problem of foreign influence.
“I’m skeptical that, ultimately, you’ll be able to truly address this challenge on your own,” he told the hearing. ”Congress is going to have to take action here.”
Google rejected requests to send its CEO Sundar Pichai or parent firm Alphabet chief Larry Page, but offered a written statement from its chief legal officer Kent Walker.
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