California to attend Justice Department
meeting on social media
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[September 14, 2018]
By Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - California will join
other states planning to participate in a meeting organized by the U.S.
Justice Department to discuss concerns about conservative voices being
stifled on social media, the state's attorney general said on Thursday.
The Justice Department said it had invited a bipartisan group of 24
state attorneys general to attend the Sept. 25 meeting.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the meeting after President Donald
Trump criticized social media outlets for what he said was unfair
treatment of conservatives.
Lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and the Senate held
hearings this month to grill executives of social media companies about
their handling of conservative voices online.
Companies like Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Google owner Alphabet Inc
have been accused by some conservatives of seeking to exclude their
ideas.
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The companies deny any such bias.
"Today, the Justice Department formally sent invitations to a bipartisan
group of twenty-four state attorneys general that expressed an interest
in attending the meeting hosted by Attorney General Jeff Sessions," a
Justice Department official said.
"The meeting will take place here at the Department of Justice, and we
look forward to having a robust dialogue with all attendees on the topic
of social media platforms."
The Justice Department invited officials from California Attorney
General Xavier Becerra's office to the meeting after Becerra reached out
to Washington, Becerra spokeswoman Sarah Lovenheim said in an email
statement.
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![](../images/091418pics/news_J19.jpg)
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra speaks at a media
conference in Los Angeles, California, U.S. August 2, 2018.
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
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"States like California, the nation’s tech leader and home to a $385
billion tech industry, have a wealth of insight and expertise to
share in any inquiry about the role of technology companies, and we
look forward to a thoughtful conversation in Washington, D.C.,"
Becerra said in a statement.
Texas and South Carolina said previously they would participate,
while others said they were not invited.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Additional reporting by Dan Levine in San
Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler and Peter Cooney)
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