Twitter has come under increased criticism since Elon Musk took control of the social media platform, particularly from the political right, which claims that Twitter censors right-wing viewpoints.

Why American lawmakers are questioning former Twitter executives Vijaya Gadde and others

Twitter has come under increased criticism since Elon Musk took control of the social media platform, particularly from the political right, which claims that Twitter censors right-wing viewpoints.

Former Twitter workers were questioned by the US House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, including chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, about the social media company's choices to remove or restrict the reach of specific political content on the platform.

 

Throughout the session, there were several very dramatic exchanges, including accusations of meddling in the US Presidential elections, of collaborating with the FBI, and of suppressing conservative Twitter users.

 

What in the name of God do you think you are? Gadde questioned Lauren Boebert, a contentious GOP far-right activist.

Before the US House Oversight Committee were born Gadde, the former director of legal, policy, and trust at Twitter, James Baker, a former deputy general counsel, and Yoel Roth, a former director of trust and safety.

 

An important topic of discussion was Twitter's response to a New York Post piece about US President Joe Biden's son Hunter's business dealings prior to the 2020 election. Elon Musk, the founder of the network, gave the material that was leaked last year on how Twitter decided to suspend the tabloid website's account the moniker "Twitter Files."

Vijaya Gadde, who is he?

 

During the debate over Twitter's policy, Gadde has been one of the most prominent voices. When she was three years old, her family relocated from Hyderabad to Texas in the US. Both Cornell University and the New York University School of Law have graduated her.

 

She oversaw a team at Twitter that was in charge of the platform's safety policy and content control. In 2018, a picture of her posing with Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter, who was holding a placard that read, "Smash Brahmanical Patriarchy," went viral, sparking debate in India.

She is criticised for having a left-wing bias and for "shadowbanning" accounts whose beliefs she disagreed with in order to limit their impact on Twitter without actually removing them. They assert that this includes Donald Trump, a former US president, being barred because of tweets he made about his supporters assaulting the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

 

Gadde was let go in 2022 when Musk took control of Twitter.

 

What is the purpose of this hearing and what charges are being brought against Twitter?

 

To "ensure the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the federal government and all its agencies," the US House Oversight Committee holds hearings. The meeting for "Protecting Expression from Government Intervention and Social Media Bias, Part 1: Twitter's Role in Suppressing the Biden Laptop Narrative" included discussion of the issues with Twitter.

The limitations placed on her account as part of the alleged shadowbanning were questioned by a Republican lawmaker. Does either Mr. Roth or Miss Gaddy approve of the shadow banning of my account at Lauren Bobert? Are you sure? No. No, I didn't. To the  best of my knowledge, no. Let me refresh your recollection because on March 12, 2021, and Mr. Roth, I know you looked at it because fascist Twitter 1.0 had a public interest exceptions policy, which meant that for members of Congress to be shadowbanned, it had to go before you, Ms. Boebert questioned.

Before working at Twitter, Jim Baker, another former executive, was a lawyer for the FBI. Boebert claimed that there appeared to be a "revolving door" between the FBI and Twitter itself. "We have Mr. Baker here, a former FBI agent."

 

"You prevented Congressmen from speaking with their constituents. Over a freaking joke, you silenced me from speaking to Americans. Who in the heck do you think you are right now? Election meddling? Yes, I'd say that's what was happening because you four were sitting here. The story about Hunter Biden's laptop was kept quiet... Lauren Boebert added, "I think Putin is sitting in the Kremlin wishing he had as much election meddling as you four here today.

The hearings, which were ostensibly an investigation into Twitter's wrongdoings, devolved into a political brawl as Republicans used it as an opportunity to accuse "liberals" and Joe Biden.

 

What justifies the timing of these hearings?

 

The disclosure of internal material provided a glimpse into Twitter's moderating practises. The "files," which were allegedly revealed by Substack journalist Matt Taibbi in December 2022 as part of screenshots, purported to explain the reasoning for the censorship of a 2020 New York Post article that made unsubstantiated assertions about Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine. According to the narrative, Hunter was a spoiled brat who told businessmen he could set up meetings with his father, who was the Vice President at the time.

Twitter claimed that it banned the story in 2020, just before the US Presidential elections, because it broke its "hacked materials" policy. Following what Gadde referred to as both critical and encouraging responses regarding their decision, Twitter changed its policy on October 31. In apologising, Jack Dorsey called it "a tremendous error." meetings arranged with the Vice President at the time, his father.

Significantly, the Federal Election Commission determined in 2021, after considering a complaint from the Republican National Committee, that Twitter did not break the law by blocking access to the Hunter NY Post article. According to a statement from the FEC, the limiting of the article's sharing was "undertaken for business reasons and not with the intention of influencing an election."

 

Why have Twitter's assertions been questioned?

 

That has to do with the bigger issues that have surfaced recently as social media's influence on politics has come under more scrutiny. Many right-wing organisations, particularly in the US, and some Republicans have emphasised that websites like Facebook and Twitter solely ban one ideology.

Internet corporations, on the other hand, have been under fire from a variety of backers for their inability to screen out trolls, bots, and fake news. Another area where the corporations failed to act promptly in the previous election was Russian meddling through bots. Twitter executives claimed that their decision-making was hindered by the increased emphasis on battling misinformation.

Gadde reportedly told CNN that the New York Post's account should have been immediately reactivated once they changed their minds about blocking the Hunter Biden story. Yoel Roth, the former Head of Trust and Safety at Twitter, stated in court that there was a lot of uncertainty about how to approach the issue despite an increasing focus on combating disinformation. According to Roth, "it is not immediately clear what the appropriate response is to a suspected but unconfirmed hack by another nation on a presidential election." I think Twitter made a mistake here because we didn't want to make the same mistakes we did in 2016."