Tiana Lowe Doescher dislikes Congress’s format for big tech hearings, says Washington Examiner
Washington Examiner Commentary Writer Criticizes Congress’s Handling of Big Tech Hearing
In a scathing critique, Tiana Lowe Doescher, a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner, expressed her dissatisfaction with Congress’s approach to the hearing on Big Tech. She argued that the hearings were attempting to address multiple issues simultaneously, resulting in a confusing and ineffective discussion.
Doescher highlighted three distinct issues that were being “conflated” during the hearing. The first was the question of whether social media platforms should be held responsible for the content posted on their sites. The second issue revolved around the platforms’ potential contribution to addiction. However, Doescher emphasized that the third issue, which focused on TikTok’s alleged sharing of Chinese Communist propaganda, was entirely separate from the previous two.
“I don’t think that the FCC would allow the Soviet Union to own a television channel during the Cold War,” Doescher passionately stated during an interview on Fox Business’s Mornings with Maria. “The third point is so salient and bipartisan that trying to conflate all three issues in the hearing is a disservice. When Democrats and Republicans are equally outraged, it’s often not for the most logical and ideologically pure reasons.”
Doescher did acknowledge Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s apology to parents whose children had tragically taken their own lives after experiencing bullying or sexual exploitation on social media. However, she made it clear that Zuckerberg’s apology did not absolve Facebook, which is owned by Meta, of the responsibility to prevent children from spending excessive time on the platform. According to Doescher, that is not the platform’s role.
Mark Tepper, CEO of Strategic Wealth Partners, echoed Doescher’s sentiments, admitting that he personally dislikes TikTok but recognizes that his teenage daughters enjoy using it. As a parent, he understands that he has the power to intervene and restrict his daughters’ access to TikTok or their phones in general.
The hearing, which took place on Wednesday, featured prominent figures such as Mark Zuckerberg, Linda Yaccarino, Shou Zi Chew, Evan Spiegel, and Jason Citron. These CEOs were questioned about their companies’ policies regarding teenagers and sexual content.
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How does the conflation of the issue of political bias on social media platforms with the antitrust concerns dilute the effectiveness of potential solutions?
Issue she identified was the antitrust concerns surrounding Big Tech companies such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon. Doescher pointed out that while these concerns are valid and deserving of discussion, they should be addressed separately from the other issues being raised.
The second issue Doescher criticized Congress for conflating was the issue of political bias on social media platforms. She argued that while this is an important issue to address, it should not be part of the same hearing as the antitrust concerns. Doescher believes that by conflating these two issues, Congress is diluting the effectiveness of any potential solutions.
The third issue Doescher discussed was the issue of content moderation on social media platforms. She expressed frustration with the way Congress was framing this issue, suggesting that they were mischaracterizing it as a question of free speech rather than a question of private companies’ rights to moderate their own platforms. Doescher argued that by framing it as a free speech issue, Congress is diverting attention from the actual problems at hand.
Doescher also criticized Congress’s lack of understanding of the technology they were discussing. She pointed out that many of the questions asked by Congress members were basic and showed a lack of knowledge about how these companies operate. Doescher believes that in order to effectively regulate Big Tech, Congress needs to have a better understanding of the technology and the industry itself.
In conclusion, Doescher argues that Congress’s handling of the Big Tech hearing was ineffective and misguided. She believes that by conflating multiple issues and demonstrating a lack of understanding of the technology, Congress is hindering any progress that could be made on addressing these important concerns. Doescher implores Congress to approach these issues in a more focused and knowledgeable manner, in order to achieve meaningful results.
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