U.S. Senator thinks Twitter and Facebook may need a license to operate – Reuters

A 3D printed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen in front of displayed Twitter logo in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham, a Republican critic of social media companies like Meta's (META.O) Facebook and Twitter (TWTR.N), said on Tuesday that he wants create a way to regulate, and perhaps license, social media companies.
Graham said that he was working on a measure — he did not say what form it would take — with Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, and Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican. Graham could not be reached for further comment and Warren and Hawley did not immediately return a call for comment.
At a hearing to discuss security lapses at Twitter, Graham said the companies were allowed to become internationally powerful with few restrictions on what they could and could not do. He also expressed concern that the Federal Trade Commission seemed to have few tools in their regulatory toolbox to rein them in.
Social media platforms are not licensed and "you can't sue them," Graham said, noting "if you drive a car, you need a license, if you sell real estate, you need a license."
Graham's plan could include regulations that would put limits on what speech the companies could take down while also requiring them to be tougher about criminal use of the networks and foreign interference.
"If somebody takes your content down you'll have an appeal process," he said at a Congressional hearing on Tuesday.
Graham spoke at a hearing whose main witness is Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, a famed hacker who served as Twitter's head of security until his firing. Mudge said some Twitter employees were concerned that the Chinese government would be able to collect data on the company's users. read more
Big tech companies appear to have few friends in Congress with Republicans angry about what they perceive as the companies stifling conservative voices while Democrats believe that foreign interference on Facebook contributed to former President Donald Trump's win in 2016.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Russian tech giant Yandex on Wednesday said it had launched food delivery service Yandex Eats in Armenia, delivering on a promise to develop its e-commerce offering after selling some other business lines to rival VK .
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.
Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology.
The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs.
The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals.
Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile.
Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts.
Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks.
All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.
© 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved

source

Leave a Comment