Trump broadens attack on Silicon Valley companies
President Trump escalated a brewing battle with various technology companies on Tuesday, issuing a warning to Facebook and Twitter after blasting Google earlier in the day.
“Google and Twitter and Facebook, they’re really treading on very, very troubled territory,” Trump cautioned during an event at the White House.
“If you look at what is going on with Twitter and if you look at what’s going on in Facebook, they better be careful because you can’t do that to people,” he added.
The president did not provide specifics to clarify his remarks.
{mosads}Trump also claimed that “thousands of complaints” had come to the White House about the technology companies, though it’s unclear where these complaints were filed.
The president’s remarks came hours after he fired off a series of early-morning tweets claiming bias on the part of Google against conservatives.
In his remarks Tuesday afternoon, Trump reiterated his criticism of the search giant.
“I think Google is really taking advantage of a lot of people. And I think that is a very serious thing and it is a very serious charge,” he said.
Trump’s earlier tweets characterized Google’s search results as being biased against the president and other conservatives, a claim the company has rejected.
“Google search results for ‘Trump News’ shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media,” Trump wrote. “In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out,” Trump tweeted.
Trump’s criticism of technology companies comes as other Republicans in Congress, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), have accused the technology firms of being biased against conservatives.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Tuesday also chided Twitter over rhetoric aimed at conservatives on the platform, saying the social media company was too slow to ban tweets that violated its rules.
“There’s a massive problem with violent leftist rhetoric online that targets conservatives and their families; I’m all too familiar with its dangerous consequences,” wrote Scalise, who was seriously injured during a shooting at a GOP baseball practice last year.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is set to testify on the topic of alleged bias against conservatives before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Sept. 5.
Dorsey will also appear alongside Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and an expected representative from Google the same day for a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on foreign manipulation of social media platforms to influence U.S. politics.
Brett Samuels contributed.