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2018.09.05 10:25 GMT+8

Twitter CEO to defend company before Congress

CGTN

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will testify at a House of Representatives hearing on Wednesday that his company will continue to "serve the public conversation" and "does not use political ideology to make any decisions."

Dorsey will appear Wednesday before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in a hearing on online censorship of conservative opinions and misinformation activities ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

In a prepared written testimony posted Tuesday by the House committee, Dorsey said Twitter will remain an "impartial global town square," and it does "not shadow ban anyone based on political ideology."

"To serve the public conversation, Twitter is incentivized to keep all voices on the platform," he said.

A folder with the Twitter logo is seen before a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee on Capitol Hill, January 17, 2018. /VCG Photo

The Twitter CEO's testimony came a few days after US President Donald Trump accused US tech companies of trying to "silence" conservative voices.

Tech giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Google are "treading on very, very troubled territory and they have to be careful," he said last week.

Twitter has constantly denied the claims by Republicans that conservative accounts were shadow banned or their opinions were censored on the platform.

"We believe strongly in being impartial, and we strive to enforce our rules impartially," Dorsey said in the testimony, adding that "we do not make value judgments on personal beliefs."

US President Donald Trump has accused Google, Twitter and Facebook of manipulating search results related to him. /VCG Photo

Dorsey will also appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee this week along with Facebook Chief Operation Officer Sheryl Sandberg, and will be asked about measures against possible online misinformation activities ahead of the November midterm elections.

He said his company has suspended a total of 3,843 accounts linked with the Russian Internet Research Agency and 284 accounts originated from Iran for "malicious activities."

"Increased transparency is critical to promoting healthy public conversation on Twitter and earning trust," he said.

(Cover: Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, speaks at an event in London, November 20, 2014. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency
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