House Lawmakers Dismiss Tech Aptitude Criticism
Congressional hearings with executives from Facebook, Twitter and Google spurred criticism that lawmakers lack the expertise to properly question Silicon Valley. In interviews, tech-minded House lawmakers from both parties dismissed the criticism, though some said their colleagues should be better educated.
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After a House Judiciary Committee hearing with Google CEO Sundar Pichai this month (see 1812110053), Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, was chastised for asking whether Google can track the location of his phone inside the hearing room. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, got criticism for asking Pichai about the iPhone, which Pichai pointed out is made by Apple.
The idea that lawmakers aren't well-informed on tech issues is “total B.S.,” House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., told us. “I think we’re very informed. I think we’ve held them very accountable, and we will continue to hold them accountable under Republicans or Democrats,” he said, citing his committee’s hearing with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (see 1804110065). The media targets the Republican Party “for anything,” Poe told us. “Congress is savvy enough. They don’t think that we are, but I think Congress knows more than we get credit for.”
“To mock them is a mistake because the fundamental problem[s] we’re seeing with the Facebooks of the world are real,” said House Digital Commerce Subcommittee ranking member Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. “People have reason to be concerned about the use of our private data.” Zuckerberg, who she said has been on a nonstop apology tour in recent months, should be “worried” about his future as board director.
It’s “disturbing” some lawmakers don’t learn “basic issues,” Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., told us. “You can’t ask the Google CEO questions about the Apple iPhone because they’re totally different companies. Just simple things like that.” He agreed Congress is capable of becoming well-versed on tech issues. “There’s lots of issues I don’t understand that I go and learn about. You don’t have to have a technical degree to learn about technical issues, but you have to spend some time.”
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., told us lawmakers don’t have to be well-versed on technical details, but they should understand social policy issues. Cohen said he’s drafting a bill to address Russian and foreign agents’ use of social media platforms during campaigns. He didn’t offer specifics about the bill, potential collaborators or when it will be introduced, saying only “as soon as possible.”
Observers are “right” in thinking Congress needs more tech “fluency,” said Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., a presidential candidate who founded the Artificial Intelligence Caucus. “We won’t be able to represent our citizens and create that better future with technology unless we really understand how this stuff works.” Political ad disclosure requirements for social media are an “obvious” measure that should be implemented, Delaney added, saying it makes him think about the more complex issues Congress is missing.
Zuckerberg should return to the Hill for a second hearing (see 1809050057), outgoing Rep. Leonard Lance, R-N.J., told us, citing the latest allegations about the platform dealing away users’ private data (see 1812200044). The House Commerce Committee didn’t get “accurate answers” from Zuckerberg or Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey (see 1809050057), Lance said. Congress has a “responsibility” to question top tech executives, he said.