Quick summary of what is going to happen:
Zuckerberg: Thank you for calling me up, I really love this chance to talk. Thank you. We like to get the peoples message across. Thank you congressman
Random boomer congressman: Why does my google email do the colors when I press the button but not do the colors when I press the other button?
x100 for 6 hours
Watch live: Zuckerberg, Dorsey testify before Senate [video]
21–30 of 248 posts
Re: Watch live: Zuckerberg, Dorsey testify before Senate [video]
#22I'm curious what other people think the informational value of these hearings are. It seems like it is either posturing and grandstanding, or reasonable questions to which evasive or non-answers are given. Edit: Oh no it's Lindsey Graham, so probably more grandstanding. Edit 2: Editorializing here, they're threatening to take away section 230 safe harbor protections as a punishment for "censoring" right wing content…
I think most people on HN agree with you. Because these are televised, and MOST people will not watch the hearing, each senator is looking for their own sound bite which they can replay to show how tough they were. The illusion falls apart when you watch the actual hearing: the same question is asked over and over, the speakers are not given a real chance to reply, and there is no real dialogue.
Of course it doesn't help that many of the questions are ill-informed in their own right.
Re: Watch live: Zuckerberg, Dorsey testify before Senate [video]
#23I'm curious what other people think the informational value of these hearings are. It seems like it is either posturing and grandstanding, or reasonable questions to which evasive or non-answers are given. Edit: Oh no it's Lindsey Graham, so probably more grandstanding. Edit 2: Editorializing here, they're threatening to take away section 230 safe harbor protections as a punishment for "censoring" right wing content…
> I'm curious what other people think the informational value of these hearings are. It seems like it is either posturing and grandstanding, or reasonable questions to which evasive or non-answers are given. I agree with you. They need to get the cameras out of congress. Everyone involved in these hearings is mining them for clips for their campaign ads and it's sickening.
Why do you assume these same people are somehow "professional" when no one is looking.
The system operates as it is designed to.
Re: Watch live: Zuckerberg, Dorsey testify before Senate [video]
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I'm curious what other people think the informational value of these hearings are. It seems like it is either posturing and grandstanding, or reasonable questions to which evasive or non-answers are given. I agree with you. They need to get the cameras out of congress. Everyone involved in these hearings is mining them for clips for their campaign ads and it's sickening.
> They need to get the cameras out of congress. Everyone involved in these hearings is mining them for clips for their campaign ads and it's sickening. It is the cameras you have to thank for finding out that they are posturing and grandstanding.
But it also prevents them from saying things that may be politically unpopular. eg, a moderate senator standing up to the fringes in their wings.
Re: Watch live: Zuckerberg, Dorsey testify before Senate [video]
#25I'm curious what other people think the informational value of these hearings are. It seems like it is either posturing and grandstanding, or reasonable questions to which evasive or non-answers are given. Edit: Oh no it's Lindsey Graham, so probably more grandstanding. Edit 2: Editorializing here, they're threatening to take away section 230 safe harbor protections as a punishment for "censoring" right wing content…
> I'm curious what other people think the informational value of these hearings are. It seems like it is either posturing and grandstanding, or reasonable questions to which evasive or non-answers are given. I agree with you. They need to get the cameras out of congress. Everyone involved in these hearings is mining them for clips for their campaign ads and it's sickening.
If there were no cameras on the floor, they'd just talk to the ones outside. The real work is not done in front of cameras. It will never be done in front of cameras. But it still happens.
Removing cameras from these hearings could make them more productive. But I don't know how useful these types of hearings could be.
Re: Watch live: Zuckerberg, Dorsey testify before Senate [video]
#26I'm curious what other people think the informational value of these hearings are. It seems like it is either posturing and grandstanding, or reasonable questions to which evasive or non-answers are given. Edit: Oh no it's Lindsey Graham, so probably more grandstanding. Edit 2: Editorializing here, they're threatening to take away section 230 safe harbor protections as a punishment for "censoring" right wing content…
I think most people on HN agree with you. Because these are televised, and MOST people will not watch the hearing, each senator is looking for their own sound bite which they can replay to show how tough they were. The illusion falls apart when you watch the actual hearing: the same question is asked over and over, the speakers are not given a real chance to reply, and there is no real dialogue. Of course it doesn't…
The expression "bunk" or "bunkum" ultimately derives from Buncombe County, North Carolina, apparently. The story is that the congressman from its district gave a speech in Congress that made no sense at all. When asked, he said that he was "speaking to Buncombe."
Re: Watch live: Zuckerberg, Dorsey testify before Senate [video]
#27I'm curious what other people think the informational value of these hearings are. It seems like it is either posturing and grandstanding, or reasonable questions to which evasive or non-answers are given. Edit: Oh no it's Lindsey Graham, so probably more grandstanding. Edit 2: Editorializing here, they're threatening to take away section 230 safe harbor protections as a punishment for "censoring" right wing content…
I bet Lindsey Graham is going to go crazy on Trump's tweets being tagged for misinformation.. that should be amusing at least.
Re: Watch live: Zuckerberg, Dorsey testify before Senate [video]
#28Let me give a preview for anybody who can’t tune in:
Democrats all say that disinformation is a threat to democracy.
Republicans say that freedom of speech is essential to our democracy.
Jack and Mark preface every answer with “senator thank you for this question” and don’t answer anything. They both insist that the humans making editorial decisions are somehow impartial.
Republicans yell a lot. Somethings they say damn and hell, which are both now acceptable curse words.
Democrats don’t yell and spend their time flattering the witnesses and saying something about election interference.
Nothing happens.
People continue getting more divided and hating each other more so that these two men can get unfathomably wealthy.
The end.
(Bonus points if Ted Cruz says something about the constitution electing presidents, not Silicon Valley tech companies.)
Re: Watch live: Zuckerberg, Dorsey testify before Senate [video]
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
The positive argument is that a hearing forces companies to develop official positions on things they might otherwise prefer to ignore. I know there have been a few times where tech companies announced some new project they’re going to do to address issues just in advance of a hearing. I tend to agree that their primary function is public shaming, though.
I wonder if it is something to do with this information: https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1328461277971288067?s=20 Josh Hawley is a US Senator for Missouri.
Josh Hawley often promotes the meme that Google, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube censor conservatives and conservative politicians.
I have an extremely difficult time taking people like him seriously in a world where Facebook refuses to ban Steve Bannon when he calls for Dr. Fauci to be beheaded, yet twitter does so without issue. But then again, Twitter refuses to address covid-19 misinformation, and allows politicians to generally say whatever they want, conservative or no. All while youtube does nothing about qanon conspiracy videos flooding the platform.
It's just a shame that american politicians now have to be hardline partisans to the point where they will lie right into the microphone to toe the party line.
Re: Watch live: Zuckerberg, Dorsey testify before Senate [video]
#30> Coverage begins momentarily In this important event, I can only focus on how whoever wrote that doesn't know what "momentarily" means.
Ah, are you British? This is North American usage. Here is the New Oxford American English dictionary’s definition, second sense: > North American at any moment; very soon: my husband will be here to pick me up momentarily. Now that you know that this is correct usage of the word, perhaps it will be less distracting the next time you see it used that way.
It's worse than I thought, then.