Justice Department eyes up social media probe over competition

Department of Justice spokesman Devin O’Malley has raised the prospect of an investigation into whether the social media giants are impacting competition through ‘intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas’.

In a statement following the Senate Intelligence Committee grilling, O’Malley outlined plans to meet with state attorneys general to discuss the concerns over the next couple of weeks in Washington. While this does not necessarily mean a full investigation or any legal action, the social media giants are receiving plenty of unappreciated attention currently.

“The attorney general has convened a meeting with a number of state attorneys general this month to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms,” said O’Malley.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has apparently taken on President Trump’s battle against the social media giants. Aside from the Senate Intelligence Committee questioning the effectiveness of social media giants in providing an unbiased and uninfluenced platform for free speech and news, Trump is going tweeting crazy as well.

Trump’s latest target is Google as the President accuses the search platform of political bias. The remarks have escalated the conservative campaign against the internet industry, accusing the technology company of burying Republican orientated news in search results while offering more prominence to the opposition. While the ‘everyone is evil except me’ rhetoric from the President is starting to become boring, we are waiting to see whether the irony of one of the social media giants creating unprecedented exposure for his vile opinions will ever hit home.

Of course, while these are sub-plots, yet to emerge as major thorns for the social media companies, the current saga is focused on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Yesterday saw Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey face the grilling, attempting to justify their actions. The questions focused on efforts to keep Russia, Iran and others from disrupting elections and causing other problems. Some Senators found it difficult to believe there isn’t a political bias on the platforms, but that is to be expected.

The current political climate is such that temper tantrums will be thrown and accusations dished out if there is any minor disagreement to propaganda. The concept of the press questioning claims and presenting their analysis to allow citizens to make up their own minds seems to have disappeared. And we thought government was run by mature adults.

While these two internet heavyweights seemingly performed admirably in defending their positions, Google’s empty chair took more than its fair share of criticism. Rather than facing the questions of the Senators, Google decided to skip the hearing after alternative representatives were rebuffed. Instead of defending itself, Senators took aim and fired. Google has largely enjoyed a good relationship with both parties in the US political shark tank, though how this snub impacts the relationship remains to be seen.

With the Senate Intelligence Committee attacking the social media giants from the front, the Oval Office using their own platforms to attack in the virtual world and the Department of Justice gathering support on the horizon, it is looking like another couple of uncomfortable months. We suspect the US political system has already decided who is to blame, but a series of investigations and hearings are needed to justify the accusation. You know, the normal way to identify guilt.