In their first appearance in front of Congress since Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, US lawmakers asked the chief executives of Facebook, Google and Twitter whether their platforms bear some responsibility for the riots, and the answer was "yes or no?"
Social media has been blamed for amplifying calls to violence and spreading disinformation that contributed to the January 6 attempt to overturn the election results.
Only Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, answered "yes" to the question;
But he said that "the wider ecosystem" must be taken into account.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, said the company has always felt a sense of responsibility.
But it was a complicated issue.
Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, said his company was responsible for building "effective systems."
He also said that the rioters and former President Donald Trump should be held accountable.
Criticized
Lawmakers have widely criticized the platforms' approach to false or dangerous content, and companies have taken all three steps to reduce misinformation.
But researchers have shown that it is still widely found on the platforms.
"We ran away when the mob polluted the Capitol building, the House of Representatives, and the democratic process," said Democratic Representative Mike Doyle, who asked CEOs about their responsibility. "This attack and the movement that spurred it started and nourished your platforms."
The hearing was hypothetical, but SumOfUs posted snippets of the three chief executives, who were dressed as rioters on January 6 at the National Mall near the Capitol. One of them showed Zuckerberg as a "Shaman law." The hooligan, who appeared shirtless and wore horns.
Only Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, answered "yes" to lawmakers 'question about the platforms' responsibility for promoting the violence in Congress (Reuters)
At the joint hearing, held by two subcommittees of the House of Representatives' Energy and Trade Committee, lawmakers also questioned executives about the spread of COVID-19 and misinformation about vaccines, and raised concerns about the impact of social media on children, including This raised questions about Facebook's plan to create a copy of Instagram for the children.
"Your business model in itself has become the problem, and the time has passed for allowing you to self-regulate," said Democratic Representative Frank Ballon, chair of the Energy and Trade Committee, addressing Zuckerberg. "It is time to enact legislation to hold you accountable," he said.
Some lawmakers are calling for amending or abolishing Article 230 of the Communications Etiquette Law, which protects Internet platforms from liability for user content.
There are several pieces of legislation from Democrats to reform Section 230 that are being deliberated in Congress, although progress has been slow, and several Republican lawmakers are pushing separately to repeal the law entirely.
Written testimony
In written testimony released on Wednesday, Facebook argued that Section 230 should be redesigned to allow companies to be immune from liability for what users place on their platforms only if they follow best practices for removing harmful material.
Pichai and Dorsey said at the hearing that they were open to some changes, Pichai said there were some "good proposals", and Dorsey supported some of Zuckerberg's proposals;
But he said it would be difficult to distinguish between small and large services.
Republicans on the committee also criticized tech giants for what they saw as efforts to stifle conservative voices.
Trump was banned from Twitter for incitement to violence on January 6, while Facebook asked the Independent Censorship Board to rule on whether it would be banned permanently.
He is still suspended from YouTube.
At some point during the hearing, Dorsey appeared to be frustrated, and tweeted with the "?"
In an attempt to solicit the opinion of Twitter users about the question posed to them by members of Congress.
And there were over 40,000 votes cast in about 30 minutes.