Facebook, Google Face House Hearing on White Nationalism

Executives from Google and Facebook will appear before Congress to answer questions about their role in the spread of hate crimes and the rise of white nationalism in the U.S.

Neil Potts, Facebook’s director of public policy and Alexandria Walden, counsel for free expression and human rights at Google, will speak Tuesday to the House Judiciary Committee along with leaders of the Anti-Defamation League, the Equal Justice Society and others.

Congress White Nationalism-Social Media
FILE – In this Dec. 17, 2018, file photo, a man using a mobile phone walks past Google offices in New York. Executives from Google and Facebook are facing Congress Tuesday, April 8, 2019, to answer questions about their role in the hate crimes and the rise of white nationalism in the U.S. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

The hearing was prompted by the March shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, when a gunman killed 50 people at two mosques and livestreamed the attacks on Facebook. The suspected shooter also published a lengthy post online that espoused white supremacist views.

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