File 033474
U.S. Justice Department to Discuss Consumer Protection at Social Media Meeting (File 033474)
News article reporting on a Justice Department listening session called by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to discuss consumer protection and whether social media companies have stifled free exchange of ideas, following President Trump's criticisms of social media bias against conservatives.
Summary
The U.S. Justice Department announced a listening session with officials from over a dozen states to discuss consumer protection and the technology industry. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the meeting to examine whether social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google have intentionally restricted the free exchange of ideas, particularly in response to President Trump's allegations of unfair treatment of conservatives. State attorneys general from California, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, and others were expected to attend. The companies involved denied any bias in their platforms.
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REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo","captionComponent":{"text":"FILE PHOTO: The Department of Justice (DOJ) logo is pictured on a wall after a news conference in New York December 5, 2013. 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Last Friday, a person familiar with the discussions said the Justice Department was considering delaying the meeting.","textStyle":"body","type":"text"}],"identifier":"_anf-container-7","layout":"ComponentLayout-1","role":"container","style":"container","type":"container"},{"components":[{"identifier":"_anf-body-6","layout":"ComponentLayout-31","role":"body","text":"The Justice Department had previously said it had invited a bipartisan group of 24 state attorneys general to attend the Sept. 25 meeting.","textStyle":"body","type":"text"}],"identifier":"_anf-container-8","layout":"ComponentLayout-1","role":"container","style":"container","type":"container"},{"components":[{"identifier":"_anf-body-7","layout":"ComponentLayout-31","role":"body","text":"Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has said that he worries about suppression of conservative ideas on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.","textStyle":"body","type":"text"}],"identifier":"_anf-container-9","layout":"ComponentLayout-1","role":"container","style":"container","type":"container"},{"components":[{"identifier":"_anf-body-8","layout":"ComponentLayout-31","role":"body","text":"A spokeswoman for Attorney General Xavier Becerra from California, home to much of the tech industry, said that he looked forward to a \"thoughtful\" meeting.","textStyle":"body","type":"text"}],"identifier":"_anf-container-10","layout":"ComponentLayout-1","role":"container","style":"container","type":"container"},{"components":[{"identifier":"_anf-body-9","layout":"ComponentLayout-31","role":"body","text":"Representative Greg Walden, chair of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a hearing this month that Twitter had made \"mistakes\" that, he said, minimized Republicans' presence on its site, a practice conservatives have labeled \"shadow banning.\"","textStyle":"body","type":"text"}],"identifier":"_anf-container-11","layout":"ComponentLayout-1","role":"container","style":"container","type":"container"},{"components":[{"identifier":"_anf-body-10","layout":"ComponentLayout-31","role":"body","text":"Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey responded at the hearing that some platform's algorithms had been changed to fix the issue.","textStyle":"body","type":"text"}],"identifier":"_anf-container-12","layout":"ComponentLayout-1","role":"container","style":"container","type":"container"},{"components":[{"identifier":"_anf-body-11","layout":"ComponentLayout-31","role":"body","text":"Some of the state officials attending the meeting or sending representatives have also expressed concern about how Google uses consumer data.","textStyle":"body","type":"text"}],"identifier":"_anf-container-13","layout":"ComponentLayout-1","role":"container","style":"container","type":"container"},{"components":[{"identifier":"_anf-body-12","layout":"ComponentLayout-31","role":"body","text":"Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood filed a lawsuit against Google in January 2017, accusing the company of misusing data collected from public school students who use the company's software. That lawsuit is pending. ","textStyle":"body","type":"text"}],"identifier":"_anf-container-14","layout":"ComponentLayout-1","role":"container","style":"container","type":"container"},{"components":[{"identifier":"_anf-body-13","layout":"ComponentLayout-31","role":"body","text":"Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, meanwhile, opened an investigation in November 2017 into whether Google's data collection practices violate consumer protection laws. Hawley is also probing whether Google violated antitrust law by manipulating search results to favor its own products.","textStyle":"body","type":"text"}],"identifier":"_anf-container-15","layout":"ComponentLayout-1","role":"container","style":"container","type":"container"},{"components":[{"identifier":"_anf-body-14","layout":"ComponentLayout-31","role":"body","text":"Google said at the time of the probe being opened that it had \"strong privacy protections in place for our users and continue to operate in a highly competitive and dynamic environment.\"","textStyle":"body","type":"text"}],"identifier":"_anf-container-16","layout":"ComponentLayout-1","role":"container","style":"container","type":"container"},{"components":[{"identifier":"_anf-body-15","layout":"ComponentLayout-31","role":"body","text":" (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; editing by Lisa Shumaker and Rosalba O'Brien)","textStyle":"body","type":"text"}],"identifier":"_anf-container-17","layout":"ComponentLayout-1","role":"container","style":"container","type":"container"},{"components":[{"identifier":"_anf-divider-1","layout":"ComponentLayout-24","role":"divider","stroke":{"color":"#FF8000","width":"2.0pt"},"type":"line"}],"identifier":"_anf-container-18","layout":"ComponentLayout-1","role":"container","style":"container","type":"container"}],"identifier":"USKCN1M42Q9","language":"en-US","layout":{"columns":7,"gutter":20,"margin":60,"width":1024},"metadata":{"canonicalURL":"http://www.reuters.com/article/2018/09/24/us-usa-justice-tech-idUSKCN1M42Q9?utm_source=applenews","thumbnailImageIdentifier":"9a21437b00156ea86bd8e8fa14450642","transparentToolbar":false},"resources":{"12da98e1-928b-4917-9b2b-c6cf69077526":{"URL":"asset://12da98e1-928b-4917-9b2b-c6cf69077526","classification":"font","fileSize":0,"fontAttributes":{"familyName":"Source Sans Pro Semibold","style":"normal","weight":600,"width":"normal"},"fontName":"SourceSansPro-Semibold","identifier":"12da98e1-928b-4917-9b2b-c6cf69077526","type":"font"},"851f91af-eeab-4b41-adb5-36b2a8bbe1fc":{"URL":"asset://851f91af-eeab-4b41-adb5-36b2a8bbe1fc","classification":"image","dimensions":{"height":173,"width":300},"fileSize":0,"identifier":"851f91af-eeab-4b41-adb5-36b2a8bbe1fc","imageIdentifier":"9a21437b00156ea86bd8e8fa14450642","type":"image"},"a238f299-4c99-439c-8744-2387a0dff150":{"URL":"asset://a238f299-4c99-439c-8744-2387a0dff150","classification":"font","fileSize":0,"fontAttributes":{"familyName":"Knowledge","style":"normal","weight":500,"width":"normal"},"fontName":"Knowledge-Medium","identifier":"a238f299-4c99-439c-8744-2387a0dff150","type":"font"},"a86fe9cb-3812-4af3-9e3f-d15e79574af9":{"URL":"asset://a86fe9cb-3812-4af3-9e3f-d15e79574af9","classification":"image","dimensions":{"height":420,"width":728},"fileSize":0,"identifier":"a86fe9cb-3812-4af3-9e3f-d15e79574af9","imageIdentifier":"9a21437b00156ea86bd8e8fa14450642","type":"image"},"ddcb278b-5375-4100-8f71-9d224360f18c":{"URL":"asset://ddcb278b-5375-4100-8f71-9d224360f18c","classification":"font","fileSize":0,"fontAttributes":{"familyName":"Source Sans Pro Light","style":"normal","weight":300,"width":"normal"},"fontName":"SourceSansPro-Light","identifier":"ddcb278b-5375-4100-8f71-9d224360f18c","type":"font"},"e6c89552-46f7-44d9-aad8-91e76067f263":{"URL":"asset://e6c89552-46f7-44d9-aad8-91e76067f263","classification":"font","fileSize":0,"fontAttributes":{"familyName":"Source Sans Pro","style":"normal","weight":400,"width":"normal"},"fontName":"SourceSansPro-Regular","identifier":"e6c89552-46f7-44d9-aad8-91e76067f263","type":"font"}},"specVersion":"1.6","subtitle":"","textStyles":{"_anf-ts-1":{"fontName":"SourceSansPro-Semibold","identifier":"_anf-ts-1","textColor":"#FF8000"}},"title":"U.S. Justice Department to discuss consumer protection at social media meeting","version":"1.7"}