Despite complaints from conservatives who say left-leaning technology companies are 'shadow-banning' conservatives from social media, the government won’t get involved. 'It's not our job.' More details:
Conservatives are unhappy with Big Tech. Some even accuse social media companies like Twitter and Facebook of suppressing their political viewpoints through "shadow-banning," the act of making certain posts less visible than others. And politicians like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz have suggested that the Justice Department should review that supposed censorship.
Asked whether it's the role of antitrust regulators to ensure diversity of viewpoints in social media, DOJ Antitrust Division chief Makan Delrahim is hesitant. "It's not my job to ensure diversity," he says. "It is my job to ensure that there's competition should there be, in what we call in economic parlance, a revealed preference on behalf of consumers to want that type of diversity.
But Delrahim does imagine a scenario where the DOJ could get involved. "Obviously, Rupert Murdoch at Fox showed there was a market for half the country who wanted a different viewpoint of news presented to them," he says. "And they did that. Now, if the market was blocked for him to invest and create something that he felt the market needed or demanded, that would be a problem. But otherwise, it's not our job to regulate the content of speech.
Interestingly, his comment about Murdoch recalls a nearly forgotten episode nearly a quarter century ago. When Time Warner merged with Turner Broadcasting in 1995, the company agreed to pick up an additional cable news network on top of CNN, one of its subsidiaries.Time Warner chose MSNBC instead of Murdoch’s Fox News, which led to a big courtroom brawl.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Two prosecutors exit Roger Stone case after DOJ shifts to lighter sentenceThe moves come as Trump has tweeted his displeasure with the proposed 7-to-9 year prison term for his longtime adviser.
Read more »
Prosecutors withdraw from Roger Stone case after DOJ intervenes on prison sentenceThe unusual move was met with swift backlash, with Democrats accusing the Justice Department of intervening in the work of career prosecutors.
Read more »
All four Roger Stone prosecutors resign from case after DOJ backpedals on sentencing recommendationTrump tweeted early Tuesday, calling the initial sentencing recommendation "disgraceful" and a "miscarriage of justice."
Read more »
Roger Stone prosecutors quit case as DOJ cuts Trump ally's recommended prison sentencePresident Donald Trump's ally Roger Stone was convicted of lying to Congress about his contacts with WikiLeaks and witness tampering.
Read more »
Roger Stone: Prosecutors withdraw from Stone case after DOJ intervenes
Read more »
Every prosecutor on Roger Stone case quits in protest after DOJ lightens sentencing recommendationThe entire team prosecuting Roger Stone abruptly resigned from the criminal case on Tuesday after the Justice Dept. said it planned to reduce the recommended sentence for Stone, a longtime associate of President Trump.
Read more »