Twitter CEO talks to top Republicans about allegations of bias

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey spoke with two top Republicans on Tuesday about the growing firestorm over alleged anti-conservative bias by tech companies.

Dorsey thanked House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) for a “productive conversation today about the importance of transparency including how algorithms work,” in a tweet.

“It’s an important issue in the tech industry and I look forward to continuing the conversation,” he added.

Dorsey spoke to the lawmakers over the phone.

{mosads}

An Energy and Commerce Committee spokesperson told The Hill that during the conversation Walden reiterated his invitation for Dorsey to testify before the committee.

Walden had previously threatened to subpoena Dorsey to testify before Congress over concerns of anti-conservative bias by Twitter.

McCarthy has also called on Dorsey to testify before the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Twitter did not comment on the conversation or if Dorsey would attend the hearing.

McCarthy has been a vocal critic of Silicon Valley companies, accusing them of being biased against conservatives.

Dorsey has said that Twitter only policies behavior and not the content of users’ tweets.

But those assurances have failed to assuage Republican lawmakers.

The House Judiciary Committee has also held two hearings on the matter this year.

While Dorsey has not committed to attending a House hearing, he is slated to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Sept. 5 alongside Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg to testify on how platforms have been manipulated by foreign actors.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai was also invited, but Google’s senior vice president for global affairs is slated to attend instead.