FACE FACTS
Zuckerberg says Facebook took down ‘coronavirus cure’ video shared by Trump because claims ‘could cause harm’
MARK Zuckerberg said Facebook took down a "coronavirus cure" video shared by President Donald Trump because the claims made in the controversial footage "could cause harm" during a historic anti-trust hearing.
appeared before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law shortly after 1pm on Wednesday along three other tech CEOs.
boss Bezos, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet Inc – 's parent company – and 's Tim Cook were all sworn in to address lawmakers at the Rayburn House Office Building in .
Bezos launched into his testimony first shortly after 1.30 pm, followed by Pichai, Cook, and Zuckerberg – who described Facebook repeatedly as an "American success story."
All three of the businessmen emphasized the innovation of their respective companies and the significant job creation.
When it came to filtering out political speech, Zuckerberg told Ranking Member Sensebrenner "frankly, I think we've distinguished ourselves."
He said their rules stopped intellectual property violations and hate speech.
Sensebrenner then raised the issue of Trump promoting hydroxychloroquine.
"We do not prohibit discussion about trials of drugs," Zuckerberg said. "But if somebody is going to say it's proven when it's not..."
Reiterating his previous statements about social media being used as a political tool, said tech companies shouldn't be an "arbiter of truth."
When Congressman Nadler asked him whether he viewed Instagram as a competitor, Zuckerberg said yes but clarified that "by having them join us...they went from being a competitor to an app that we could help grow."
However, Nadler said buying Instagram and viewing it as a threat rather than competing with the company was an issue.
Later, Rep Raskin asked Zuckerberg about election interference on Facebook, fake profile pages, and "alt-right racist" content.
Zuckerberg said their AI systems aim to identify this "with the goal of getting this stuff down before people even see it."
Speaking about their 6.5 billion fake accounts, Zuckerberg said they try to remove billions of accounts every year – a small amount of these are "nation states" trying to interfere, he said.
AMAZON
Following tech issues, the committee resumed after a brief recess and Rep Jayapal grilled Bezos about Amazon using sellers' data.
She asked him about whether the policy against using seller specific data was really enforced after employers claimed it was "like a candy shop."
"The fact that we have such a policy is voluntary. I don’t think any other realtor has such a policy," Bezos said, after saying he "can't answer that question [with a] yes or no" when it came to violations.
Rep McBath concluded her address to Bezos asking if Amazon used "bullying, fear and panic" to control their sellers.
She played a recording of one book seller begging Bezos to “get back on track."
Congressman David N. Cicilline said small businesses compared Amazon to a "drug dealer" in the way they deal with their sellers.
"Exploiting its monopoly power," he said. "Amazon's dual role... is fundamentally uncompetitive."
Pichai was the first to be grilled by Cicilline, who said small businesses had accused Google of stealing content.
He also queried why Google shows whatever is profitable, rather than relevant, when users are looking for something.
"I disagree with that characterizations," Pichai responded, citing the 1.4 million small businesses they assist.
Cicilline also accused Google of stealing content from Yelp, describing it as "anti-competitive."
"Google is increasingly a walled garden that keeps users on its own sits," Cicilline said. "Virtually ensuring that any business that wants to be seen on the web, has to pay Google a tax."
I disagree with that characterizations.
Pichai
Congressman Gaetz also threw a series of China-related questions at Pichai, who denied Google was in cahoots with the communist country.
Gaetz cited claims that his company was "directly aiding the Chinese military" via their AI Center and working with universities.
Pichai denied these claims.
Rep Jordan also expressed his concerns that Google would assist Joe Biden over Donald Trump come November and "electioneering."
Pichai said they complied with laws in 2016 and that their work was non-partisan.
APPLE
Lawmakers also quizzed Cook about claims that Apple changes the app rules as they go to benefit the phone giant at the expense of developers.
"We treat every developer the same," Cook insisted.
"It's a rigorous process ... We do look at every app before it goes on."
Cook said it wasn't correct to say that some app developers were favored over others, however.
"Sir, 84 percent of the apps pay nothing," he continued. "We have never increased commissions in the stores since it first opened in 2008.
"There is a competition for developers just like there's a competition for customers ... it's a street fight for market share in the smart phone business."
WRITTEN TESTIMONY
In his written statement, described how to continue connecting during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted its innovations.
He said the million-dollar company wouldn't have been possible without "US laws that encourage competition and innovation."
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Zuckerberg emphasized the "core values of openness and fairness" as and other stakeholders consider how antitrust laws support competition in the US.
He said that although he recognized the "perceived power" of the platform, he didn't think tech companies should be "making so many judgments about important issues like harmful content, privacy, and election integrity on their own.
The tech mogul discussed Facebook's value and the role of competition; it's history of innovation; the platform itself; and the benefits of its scale.
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