Congress to grill Google CEO about political bias; ‘Search engines can be used to suppress particular viewpoints’ – U.S. Congressman

“Google CEO Sundar Pichai is scheduled to testify before Congress next Wednesday, December 5,” Timothy B. Lee reports for Ars Technica. “Google angered some members of Congress in September when the company refused to send either one of its two most senior executives — Pichai or Alphabet CEO Larry Page — to testify before a September hearing on election security before the Senate Intelligence Committee.”
“According to the Washington Post, next week’s hearing is occurring at the request of House Majority leader Kevin McCarthy, who has raised concerns that Google may be biased against conservatives—and that this bias may be seeping into the policies of Google’s search engine, YouTube, and other products,” Lee reports. “A recently leaked video showed Google executives openly mourning Hillary Clinton’s loss after the 2016 election.”
“‘The technology behind online services like social media and Internet search engines can also be used to suppress particular viewpoints and manipulate public opinion,’ said Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, in a press release announcing the hearing,” Lee reports. “Pichai could find himself facing tough questions from both sides of the aisle—from Democrats who are skeptical of big businesses generally and from Republicans who are concerned about the growing power of Silicon Valley technology companies.”
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“Google has faced immense criticism for its handling of a bug that may have exposed personal data of hundreds of thousands of its users on Google+, its social network,” Tony Romm reports for The Washington Post. “The company discovered the incident in March but only revealed it in October.”
“Along with privacy, Goodlatte previously said in an interview with The Washington Post that he would raise ‘antitrust’ issues,” Romm reports. “In Europe, Google faces continued scrutiny for its corporate footprint, and some in the United States — including the president — have suggested the need to explore whether Google threatens competitors.”
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MacDailyNews Take: Groupthink is the product of lazy minds.
Question everything.
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