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Senate panel will vote to OK subpoenas for Dorsey, Zuckerberg

Photo: Graeme Jennings/Pool via Getty Images

The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote Thursday to authorize subpoenas that would compel Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify about their platforms limiting the reach of a New York Post article on Hunter Biden.

Why it matters: Republicans are ratcheting up pressure on tech platforms over allegations of anti-conservative bias, which have reached a fever pitch following the incident with the Biden article, based on documents supplied by Rudy Giuliani.

Yes, but: Thursday's vote doesn't necessarily means Zuckerberg and Dorsey will actually get subpoenaed. The committee said it is still working with Twitter and Facebook to nail down times for voluntary testimony.

  • Neither Facebook nor Twitter had comment.

Of note: Dorsey, Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai are already slated to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee on similar topics related to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and content moderation.

  • Senate Commerce authorized subpoenas for tech CEOs before nailing down voluntary testimony, rendering the subpoena unnecessary.

Context: Republicans are accusing the companies of censorship and trying to suppress the material to benefit Biden.

Go deeper

Sara Fischer, author of Media Trends
Dec 1, 2020 - Technology

Facebook, Google push deals despite antitrust scrutiny

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Facebook announced Monday that it has purchased a customer service chatbot startup called Kustomer. The app reportedly cost Facebook $1 billion, the same amount it paid for Instagram in 2012.

Why it matters: The deal is the latest sign that the world's biggest tech companies, despite facing enormous antitrust scrutiny globally, will not stop buying up other companies.
.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Sara Fischer, Scott Rosenberg
Dec 1, 2020 - Technology

More than 20,000 users submit cases to Facebook oversight board

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

More than 20,000 people have submitted cases to Facebook's independent Oversight Board since the board started accepting user appeals in October, the organization announced Monday, and it has selected six initial cases for review.

Why it matters: The number of submissions speaks to the multitude of people who feel the platform's moderation of their content has wronged them. The tiny number of cases getting reviewed speaks to the limits of human oversight on a platform the size of Facebook, as well as to the novelty of the board's process and the complex nature of the cases chosen.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Gigi Sukin
22 mins ago - Health

U.S. exceeds 100,000 COVID-related hospitalizations for the first time

People wait outside the Emergency room of the Garfield Medical Center in Monterey Park, California on Dec 1. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/Getty Images

More than 100,200 Americans were hospitalized as of Wednesday due to the coronavirus for the first time since the outbreak began in early 2020, per the COVID Tracking Project.

The big picture: The milestone comes as health officials anticipated cases to surge due to holiday travel and gatherings. The impact of the holiday remains notable, as many states across the country are only reporting partial data.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow