For Immediate Release: April 1, 2021
Media contact: media@colorofchange.org

Color Of Change Responds to House Energy and Commerce Committee Hearing

“The House and Energy Commerce Committee disinformation hearing on Thursday further demonstrated that tech giants like Facebook, Twitter and Google have amassed too much power, while laying bare once again the urgent need for federal regulation and enforcement. As Chair Schakowsky stated during the hearing, ‘self regulation has come to the end of its road.’

What we heard from Big Tech CEOs was nothing new. We spent hours listening to Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey talk in circles in an attempt to downplay their role in enabling and fueling online hate and disinformation — even as their failure to stem the growing crisis continues to subject Black and other marginalized communities to the dangerous, real-world consequences of unchecked falsehoods and racist vitriol on their platforms.

Zuckerberg told his own lie during the hearing when he claimed that Facebook ‘removes content that could lead to real-world harm.’ This is simply not true. The murders in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year and the January insurrection are just two of the many examples that illustrate the ways in which Facebook is complicit in the real-world harm caused by white nationalists and other bad actors who use the platform to recruit, organize and sow discord in our communities. Similarly, Sundar Pichai refused to acknowledge that Google was responsible for the violence on Capitol Hill while also claiming, along with his peers, that his company does not profit off of disinformation on their platforms. These statements are falsehoods that mirror the deceptive nature of the company’s attempts to self-regulate — as illustrated in part by Google’s firing of Dr. Timnit Gebru, who was terminated after raising the alarm on biases prevalent in the company’s A.I.

Reps. Kelly and Pallone echoed what Color Of Change and other advocates have been saying for years: Facebook, Twitter and Google operate on dangerous business models that incentive hate for profit. Throughout the hearing, we heard the leaders of these social media companies position their meetings with civil rights groups as proof that they are adequately addressing the ongoing proliferation of online hate and disinformation. Color Of Change has participated in these meetings in the past, but we have consistently walked away with less confidence in their readiness and desire to take civil rights and racial equity issues seriously. These meetings are only effective if both parties show up with the willingness to listen and implement change — a willingness these leaders rarely possess. Jack Dorsey also claimed Twitter’s leaders meet with civil rights organizations ‘on a regular basis,’ but as Rep. Bush pointed out, the company has yet to follow-through on their 2018 commitment to conduct a civil rights audit.

We will not accept empty promises, band-aid solutions, or self-imposed policies that are implemented or revoked when politically convenient. To truly begin to address the crisis of online hate and disinformation, the incentive structures these companies operate by must change. That’s why Congress must step in.

Color Of Change applauds the leadership of committee members who highlighted the root problem of tech platforms’ flawed business models. We hope the near-unanimous bipartisan consensus that social media companies are too powerful signals that Congress is ready to prioritize antitrust reform measures.  Color Of Change and our millions of members will keep pushing for federal regulation and enforcement in order to reign in tech companies that continue to prioritize profits over the safety and wellbeing of our communities and our democracy.”

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About Color Of Change:
Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force, 7 million people have taken action with Color Of Change this year. We move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more humane and less hostile world for Black people in America. Visit www.colorofchange.org.