New podcast: What did those Big Tech hearings have to do with religious life in America? – GetReligion

Like I said, there have been more consequential clashes between the Big Tech czars and religious believers, but that one was symbolic.

The key is that faith is part of daily life, for millions of folks. These days, social media software has a massive impact on how people live their lives. Thus, Big Tech is a powerful force in the lives of believers and their families. Thats why Crossroads host Todd Wilken and I talked about this weeks Big Tech Congressional hearings, during this weeks podcast (click here to tune that in).

So what were these hearings all about? Apparently, the answer to that question depended on ones political ties. As I wrote the other day:

Democrats have their own reasons to be concerned about Big Tech, whose clout in the lives of modern Americans make the railroad tycoons of the Gilded Age look like minor-league players. These companies, after all, resemble digital public utilities more than mere Fortune 500 powerhouses.

Meanwhile, you know that at some point Republicans are going to roll out a long list of cases of viewpoint discrimination against cultural, moral, religious and oh yeah political conservatives.

So what happened, when the mainstream press covered the Hill showdown with the glowing digital images of Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg, Googles Sundar Pichai, Apples Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos of Amazon and The Washington Post?

All four of those men have a major impact on what is news and what is not news. However, Bezos spending some pocket change, as the richest man in the world did buy the The Washington Post a few years ago.

So lets start with his newspapers coverage, which ran online with this headline: Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google grilled on Capitol Hill over their market power. Heres the overture:

The leaders of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google took a brutal political lashing as Democrats and Republicans confronted the executives for wielding their market power to crush competitors and amass data, customers and sky-high profits.

Therare interrogationplayed out over the course of a nearly six-hour hearing, with lawmakers on the Houses top antitrust subcommittee coming armed withmillions of documents, hundreds of hours of interviews and in some cases the once-private messages of Silicon Valleys elite chiefs. They said it showed some in the tech sector had become too big and powerful, threatening rivals, consumers and, in some cases, even democracy itself.

Our founders would not bow before a king. Nor should we bow before the emperors of the online economy, said Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.).

The key words there are market and economy.

The entire story focuses on the concerns that Democrats, and many Republicans, have about the impact that the Big Tech superpowers have on their alleged competitors in a free market.

What about their impact on Americas marketplace of ideas? Do the disciples of these men tend to tilt the scales when it comes to deciding who gets to speak, and who doesnt, on their platforms? Isnt that topic half of this story, if one looks at it from the point of view of people who USE these platforms?

Post readers had to go 581 words into this piece to find this digital crust of bread:

Republicans, meanwhile, largely used their time during the hearing to attack some tech companies forengaging in perceived political censorshipagainst conservatives, a charge that the industry vehemently denies.

We all think the free market is great. We think competition is great. We love the fact that these are American companies, said Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee. But whats not great is censoring people, censoring conservators and trying to impact elections. And if it doesnt end, there has to be consequences.

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New podcast: What did those Big Tech hearings have to do with religious life in America? - GetReligion