Published 13:28 IST, October 29th 2020
Facebook's Zuckerberg struggles to connect to Congressional hearing; netizens in disbelief
Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg struggled to appear remotely on a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing which led to a delay in the hearing.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apparently struggled to appear remotely on a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing which led to a delay. The hearing was on a key social media legal protection. The hearing had to take a short recess to allow him to sort out the issue and link up to it.
Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the committee, apprised about the five-minute delay and said,
"We are unable to make contact with Mr. Mark Zuckerberg," said Senator Roger Wicker
Facebook then told the committee that Zuckerberg was alone. He was, however, able to get connected in a couple of minutes. After statements from Jack Dorsey and Sundar Pichai, respectively the CEOs of Twitter and Google parent company Alphabet, it was Zuckerberg's turn.
"I was able to hear the other opening statements. I was just having a hard time connecting myself," Zuckerberg said.
Netizens react
Twitter exploded after Zuckerberg struggled to connect. “Even a Titan of Big Tech had technical issues connecting to a senate hearing via social media yesterday," wrote a user. While others in awe, could not believe that the mighty talented young entrepreneur could not connect a zoom call.
Senate Hearing: Facebook, Twitter, Google CEOs testify on Section 230
Meanwhile, the CEOs of three of the nation’s giant tech firms — Google, Twitter and Facebook — were grilled by a Senate panel on Wednesday after coming under the radar over censorship concerns, specifically for blocking Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine and China.
In his opening statement, Zuckerberg argued that while Section 230 needs to be changed, going too far could result in the companies being even more restrictive concerning what they publish on their platforms that could get them in legal trouble. Wicker kicked off the hearing raising Twitter and Facebook’s blocking a story, claiming it was based on hacked materials.
Zuckerberg and Dorsey both said that Section 230’s greatest impacts on social media firms were that it provides immunity from liability for what users post and the allowance of content moderation.
Updated 13:28 IST, October 29th 2020