Facebook and Google Feel Chill From Once-Friendly Washington

Washington officials once dazzled by the swashbuckling entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley are now openly questioning the freedom they’ve bestowed on Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Emboldened by a president who’s openly contemptuous of the companies -- despite his own reliance on Twitter -- and intelligence reports linking popular online sites to election interference, lawmakers from both parties grilled top tech executives this week about whether, and how, Washington should rein them in. 

Gigi Sohn, a Benton Foundation senior fellow and distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy in Washington, said there’s a partisan divide on what changes are needed. Democrats want protection from foreign actors, privacy protections and increased competition, while Republicans are focused on “so-called bias against conservative voices,” she said. “The mood has definitely shifted -- both parties have made it clear that they are going to be watching tech closely on a variety of issues, and the threat of regulation is more real than ever,” Sohn said.