The White House's Social Media Summit May Not Include Facebook and TwitterIt's not much of a summit without the two biggest players.
This story originally appeared onEngadget
The White House's upcomingsocial media summitmight be missing some key players when it goes ahead this week. Facebook and Twitter have not been invited to attend, according to sources who spoke withCNN.
The sources said the summit would not be a serious attempt to discuss issues like privacy or security, but rather "would amount to a right-wing grievance session." Supporting this assertion is the fact that right-wing commentators who have complained of anti-conservative bias and censorship on social media have been invited, as reported in theWashington Post, while Facebook and Twitter, two of the biggest players in social media, have not.
Both companies have had clashes with Trump and his administration. In April, Trumpmet with Twitter CEO Jack Dorseyand reportedly complained about the site removing a number of his followers. There have also been issues over theshadow banningandactual banningof far-right organizations and individuals on the site. And despite Facebookproviding support for Trumpduring his campaign, itpulled campaign adswhich it deemed too sensationalist and banned far-right users likeAlex Jones.
Facebook and Twitter were also among a group of 50 global brands whodenounced Trump's anti-trans positionat the start of the year. There is an ongoing perception among Republicans that Silicon Valley companies have ananti-conservative bias, but it's not clear how hosting a summit without inviting the key players will help address this issue.
