Erin Forsythe, a nurse practitioner with Virginia Mason, administers a COVID-19 vaccine shot Sunday at the Amazon Meeting Center in Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Taylor Soper)
Rep. Adam Schiff, in separate letters to bosses of tech giants Amazon and Facebook, criticized the efforts of both companies to curb the spread COVID-19 and related vaccination information.
The pair of letters, dated a day after Sen. Elizabeth Warrens missive also sharply rebuked Amazon for vaccine misinformation, accused both companies of directly profiting on the spread of false vaccine and virus information on their respective sites.
To Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Schiff wrote, As long as these materials remain on your site, Facebook is directly profiting from the sensationalism of antivaccine misinformation, while these conspiracy theories continue to directly contribute to COVID-19 deaths.
And to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Schiff pointed out that Amazons own algorithms can be gamed to push people toward false information. Further, Amazon algorithms and lists have been easily manipulated by bad actors through false reviews, targeted purchasing, miscategorization, or even intentional misspellings, he wrote.
As long as these materials remain on the site, Amazon is directly profiting from the sensationalism of antivaccine misinformation.
An Amazon spokesperson said when it comes to vaccines, the company leads by example. As a company, we continue to encourage our employees to get vaccinated, and we believe it is an important step for communities to stay healthy and recover from the pandemic.
A company spokesperson also confirmed the company will respond to Warrens questions.
The pointed criticism from the two powerful Democrats comes at a fraught time for the four tech giants Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple as Congress probes both the power and reach of a handful of the most valuable companies in the world.
Seattle Rep. Pramila Jayapals Amazon-busting legislation, the Ending Platform Monopolies Act would potentially force the companys dismantling, has both bipartisan and Biden administration support, the 7th District Democrat said in a recent interview with GeekWire.
Her legislation is part of a five-bill package that seek to create a frameworkto dismantle large tech companies into smaller ones (Amazon and Amazon Web Services, for example); to make mergers more expensive and difficult; to break up businesses that use their dominance in one area to get a stronghold in another; and to stop companies that create purportedly open marketplaces and only to game it to favor their own products.
Schiffs and Warrens comments dont appear to indicate any softening of the tone toward at least two of the companies. Schiff had contacted both companies about similar issues in 2019, at the pandemics outset.
And while he conceded that the pair were trying to curb COVID-19 misinformation, neither had gone far enough.
It is, of course, inevitable that malicious users will attempt to propagate harmful content, and I appreciate Facebooks efforts to provide accurate information on COVID-19 when possible, Schiff wrote in his letter to Zuckerberg.
Research has shown, however, that combatting anti-vaccine conspiracies by posing factual and counter-factual information as opposing, but equal viewpoints is ineffective at combatting misinformation and disinformation.
In a statement issued after he sent the letters, Schiff said the social media companies are helping to perpetuate the pandemic.
Vaccine hesitancy fueled by misinformation stands between us and truly ending the COVID-19 pandemic. And nowhere is that misinformation more apparent, potent, and transmissible than on social media and e-commerce sites, Schiff said. As the administration of vaccines around the country continues, misinformation is on the rise on major online platforms.
Schiff asked the companies to respond to a series questions including:
A spokesperson for Facebook could immediately be reached for comment.
Read both letters below.
Excerpt from:
