Top House Republican invites more tech CEOs to testify before Congress

The chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee has issued an open invitation to technology CEOs to testify before his panel as it grapples with questions about consumer protections and data privacy.

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) wrote in an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle that he and his colleagues have more questions for the industry following Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony about its massive data scandal.

“As we in Congress keep learning more about Facebook’s use of personal data, we also want consumers to have the full picture about Google’s advertising model, Twitter’s algorithms, and Apple’s data collection practices,” Walden wrote in the column, published online Monday. “We want to examine how dangerous content continues to exist on YouTube, how Amazon has disrupted the retail industry, how Netflix prioritizes content across networks, and much more.”

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Walden’s committee grilled Zuckerberg for hours last month, after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct political consulting firm, had improperly obtained data on 87 million Facebook users. Lawmakers of both parties floated the idea of increased privacy regulations, and some accused the social network of holding monopoly power.

The Oregon Republican said that he remains skeptical that more regulations will help prevent abuses from Silicon Valley titans.

“Mistakes, abuse and breaches of trust, however, all have real-world implications for hundreds of millions of Americans, and billions of people worldwide,” Walden wrote. “Congress will need the help of the best and brightest in tech to help us strike the right balance to protect consumers while also encouraging innovation and competition.”