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FEDERALhearing transcript

High Impact

Congressional Hearing: Twitter Transparency and Accountability

Original title: TWITTER: TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

January 1, 2019

social media content moderation transparency election interference online abuse terrorism

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The Frame

What this does

This hearing established the public record regarding how Twitter manages user speech, political influence campaigns, and safety, which informs ongoing federal discussions about the regulation of social media platforms.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Twitter, Inc.

The company was required to provide testimony and documentation regarding its internal moderation policies and platform security.

Social Media Users

Users are affected by the potential changes to platform moderation policies and transparency standards discussed during the hearing.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2019.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on September 5, 2018, to examine Twitter's policies, transparency, and the platform's role in addressing foreign influence and online abuse. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testified before the committee regarding the company's internal processes and efforts to combat platform misuse.

Key Facts

The hearing took place on September 5, 2018, in the Rayburn House Office Building.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, provided testimony and submitted written responses to committee questions.
The committee reviewed evidence regarding Russian troll activity on Twitter during the 2016 presidential election.
The committee examined data regarding the suspension of over 1.2 million terrorism-related accounts since 2015.
The committee reviewed reports on the removal of accounts linked to Iranian and Russian political meddling.
Amnesty International submitted a study titled '#toxictwitter: Violence and abuse against women online' for the record.
The committee entered into the record various articles and statements regarding Twitter's moderation of political speech and Periscope's content safety issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the purpose of this hearing?

The hearing was held to investigate Twitter's transparency, accountability, and how the company handles , foreign influence, and user safety.

Who testified at the hearing?

Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, Inc., testified before the committee.

Why It Matters

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Increased Scrutiny on Foreign Influence

The hearing highlights a transition in congressional focus toward the role of social media in foreign political meddling and terrorism prevention.

Twitter, Inc.House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Connected Entities

personJack Dorsey“CEO of Twitter, Inc. and primary witness at the hearing.”Map →

organizationHouse Committee on Energy and Commerce“The congressional committee conducting the hearing.”Map →

organizationTwitter, Inc.“The technology company under review.”Map →

personGreg Walden“Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance85
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy75
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment40
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz50
Current news / social attention level

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