Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, Sundar Pichai decline to appear before US Senate

Bosses of tech giants like Facebook, Twitter and Google have declined to appear before a panel of US Senate, said a Republican Senator. The panel had unanimously voted on Thursday to summon Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter's Jack Dorsey and Google's Sundar Pichai. They were to be questioned by the Commerce Committee of the US Senate on disinformation, online scams and a range of social ills.

"After extending an invitation to these executives, I regret that they have again declined to participate and answer questions on the record about issues that are so visible and urgent to the American people," said Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the panel.

Big tech platforms face heightened scrutiny on monopoly concerns. They are also on line for failing to stop the spread of hateful content.

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"We have questioned how they are protecting and securing the data of millions of Americans, we've explored how they're combating disinformation fraud and other online scams, we've examined whether they are providing a safe and secure internet experience for children and teens," said Wicker.

Big Tech firms, including Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, have seen their economic power grow in recent years and accelerate during the coronavirus pandemic, dominating a range of economic sectors.

President Donald Trump and his allies have claimed tech platforms are biased against conservatives, despite his own vast social media following.

Democrats meanwhile have expressed concerns over monopoly abuses and the failure of social media to stem misinformation from Trump himself.

Lawmakers from both parties have called for changes to the legal liability shield of online services under a law known as Section 230, claiming the provision enables toxic and harmful content to proliferate.

Google and Facebook are also under scrutiny by federal and state antitrust regulators.

(With inputs from AFP)