The online free speech debates show no signs of abating, with ideas of what is or isn’t acceptable still being shaped by courts and companies alike.
With lawmakers poised to take regulatory action, the most impactful question for technology companies like Facebook and Google is whether the U.S. will borrow from Europe’s model or create an entire new set of regulations.
The New York Times is reporting that the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will be splitting oversight of Google and Amazon, a move which seems to signal impending changes.
Legislation is being passed to hold social media platforms like Facebook responsible for the content that is available on them.
Facial recognition technology may have some concerning side effects. An MIT report found bias in Amazon’s popular facial recognition system.
For the first time in memory, previously unassailable companies found themselves squarely in government and public crosshairs alike, answering for a series of (often data-centric) misdeeds.
Some lawmakers zeroed-in on whether Google tracks location without consent – Representative Ted Poe of Texas accused Pichai of being evasive about location tracking when Pichai declined to give a yes or no answer when Poe asked if Google tracked his movements if he walked back and forth across a room.
Critics say that large tech companies report relatively little of their profit in local jurisdictions where they sell services and products.