In recent years, and especially as social media and AI have taken on greater roles in online social interaction, governments have increasingly scrutinized tech companies in their efforts to regulate these platforms. The recent death of extreme right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk has reignited heated debates, bringing the conversation back into the spotlight.
In response, the US Congress has summoned the CEOs of Discord, Steam, Twitch, and Reddit to testify. Notably absent from this lineup are leaders from Twitter/X and Facebook. The announcement of these summons was made by Kentucky Representative and Chairman of the GOP Oversight Committee, James Comer.
Comer framed the hearings as a call to action for tech companies to address issues related to political violence. It makes sense that platforms like Discord, Steam, and Reddit were included, as these ecosystems have been discussed in relation to the suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, and his alleged motivations.
However, it is strange that Mark Zuckerberg of Meta/Facebook and Elon Musk of X/Twitter were not invited to testify. Both platforms—and especially Twitter—were criticized for initially obfuscating the identity of the murderer. Incendiary rhetoric and misplaced blame circulated widely, complicating the FBI’s early efforts to identify the actual shooter.
At this time, it remains unclear why Comer and the GOP Oversight Committee chose to leave Facebook and Twitter out of the conversation and scrutiny surrounding this incident.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/145999/us-congress-social-platform-political-violence-x-facebook
