Apple Magazine - USA - Issue 409 (2019-08-30)

(Antfer) #1
allowthemtomoderateillegalcontentlike
humantraffickingandviolentextremism.That
shouldn’tbea tradeoff.”
ThebiasissuehasdoggedSiliconValleyfor
years,thoughthere’sbeennocredibleevidence
thatpoliticalleaningsfactorintoGoogle’ssearch
algorithmsorwhatusersseeonFacebook,
TwitterorYouTube.
That’sdonelittletosilencecriticsontheright,
includingattheWhiteHouse,whereTrump
promisedata “socialmediasummit”last
monthtoexplore“allregulatoryandlegislative
solutionstoprotectfreespeechandthefree-
speechrightsofallAmericans.”Whilenodetails
weregiven,theremarkhintedatanapproach
similartoHawley’sbill.
SomecriticsofBigTechsaytheindustry’swoesare
partlyoftheirownmaking.Havingchampioned
theircommitmenttofreespeech,theargument
goes,theirusersweren’tpreparedforthereality
thatcontent,attimes,willberestricted.
“Theywereinsistingtheywereneutral,orjust
technologyplatforms,”saidEricGoldman,a
lawprofessoratSantaClaraUniversityandco-
directorofitsHighTechLawInstitute.
Thatargumentwaspersuasive,until
disappointmentsetin.“Iteventuallyblewup
andcausedconsumerstolosetrustinthem,”
Goldmansaid.
Othersnotethattheindustryhaswell-
documentedproblemsthatcan’tbeblamed
onWashington.Techcompanieshavefaced
criticismoverdiversity,theirtreatment of
womenandhowtheyaddresssexualharassment
anddiscrimination,bothonlineandoff.

Image: Donald Jedlovec

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