'Who the hell are you?': US lawmakers ask Twitter, Facebook, Google CEOs

Agencies
October 29, 2020

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Washington, Oct 29: "Baloney!", "sham!" and "who the hell are you" scoldings dominated a Senate hearing on Wednesday where the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook and Google took heat in a talking match with US lawmakers over the idea of free speech and alleged anti-conservative bias on the companies' mighty platforms.

The Congressional grilling quickly shifted into the realm of political circus around the social media content moderation dumpster fire.

With less than a week to go for the US election, Republican lawmakers got an earful from critics for the timing of the "sham" hearing.

At the heart of the heated arguments were 26 words tucked away in a 1996 US law - Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act.

Section 230 states that "no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider".

Under American law, Internet firms are typically exempt from liability for content that users post on platforms. President Donald Trump has challenged this via executive order which threatens to strip those protections if online platforms wade into "editorial decisions".

For 3 hours and 42 minutes, the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook and Google were at the receiving end of a firehose version of bipartisan alarm over their phenomenal power to influence behaviour at scale.

The Republicans' drumbeat centered on Facebook's and Twitter's decision earlier this month to slam the brakes on an unverified political story from the conservative-leaning New York Post about Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. The story cited unverified emails from Biden's son Hunter.

Trump acolytes jumped on the chance to prove their loyalty. One of them called Twitter's action on the newspaper "a pattern of censorship and silencing Americans with whom Twitter disagrees".

For their part, Twitter, Facebook and Google have struggled to frame exactly how they would intervene and in how many scenarios. And what about content that doesn't fall into their precast rubric or categories of bad stuff? The answers have been less than clear.

Of the three companies, Facebook's sway over behavioural targeting has raised a string of red flags in the context of the US 2020 election.

Multiple lawmakers pushed back against the idea of "unelected San Francisco elites" deciding if content makes the grade or not.

In opening statements, Dorsey, Zuckerberg and Pichai spoke to the proposals for changes to Section 230. Zuckerberg said Congress "should update the law to make sure it's working as intended."

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that if Google was "acting as a publisher", he would be okay with the company being liable for content published on its platform.

Wednesday's hearing comes barely a week after the US Justice Department's landmark antitrust lawsuit against Google which argues that both advertisers and regular people are harmed by the tech giant's position as "the unchallenged gateway to the Internet for billions of users worldwide."

Warnings abound of the coming restrictions and for the "free pass" to end, maybe on the other side of the election results.

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News Network
November 21,2025

Bantwal: A domestic dispute appears to have led to a violent confrontation in BC Road area, where the owner of a textile shop was allegedly attacked with a knife by his wife on Wednesday evening.

Krishna Kumar Somayaji, the owner of Somayaji Textiles, sustained serious injuries in the incident and was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment. He is currently receiving care in the intensive care unit and is reported to have survived the assault, according to police.

The Bantwal Town police have registered a case against Somayaji's wife, Jyothi KT, who has since been taken into custody.

Police stated that the complainant, Namita, an employee at the shop, reported the sequence of events. She stated that around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the suspect entered the shop, wearing a burqa and disguised as a customer, before attacking Somayaji with a knife. The employee then transported the injured owner to a local hospital via an autorickshaw.

Superintendent of Police Arun K confirmed that an ongoing domestic dispute between Somayaji and his wife reportedly preceded the attack. Police noted that Jyothi KT had previously visited the shop and issued threats.

Based on the complaint, Bantwal Town police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Indian Arms Act-1959. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

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Agencies
November 22,2025

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New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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News Network
December 4,2025

Mangaluru: Chaos erupted at Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) after IndiGo flight 6E 5150, bound for Mumbai, was repeatedly delayed and ultimately cancelled, leaving around 100 passengers stranded overnight. The incident highlights the ongoing country-wide operational disruptions affecting the airline, largely due to the implementation of new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms for crew.

The flight was initially scheduled for 9:25 PM on Tuesday but was first postponed to 11:40 PM, then midnight, before being cancelled around 3:00 AM. Passengers expressed frustration over last-minute communication and the lack of clarity, with elderly and ailing travellers particularly affected. “Though the airline arranged food, there was no proper communication, leaving us confused,” said one family member.

An IndiGo executive at MIA cited the FDTL rules, designed to prevent pilot fatigue by limiting crew working hours, as the cause of the cancellation. While alternative arrangements, including hotel stays, were offered, about 100 passengers chose to remain at the airport, creating tension. A replacement flight was arranged but also faced delays due to the same constraints, finally departing for Mumbai around 1:45 PM on Wednesday. Passengers either flew, requested refunds, or postponed their travel.

The Mangaluru delay is part of a broader crisis for IndiGo. The airline has been forced to make “calibrated schedule adjustments”—a euphemism for widespread cancellations and delays—after stricter FDTL norms came into effect on November 1.

While an IndiGo spokesperson acknowledged unavoidable flight disruptions due to technology issues, operational requirements, and the updated crew rostering rules, the DGCA has intervened, summoning senior airline officials to explain the chaos and outline corrective measures.

The ripple effect has been felt across the country, with major hubs like Bengaluru and Mumbai reporting numerous cancellations. The Mangaluru incident underscores the systemic operational strain currently confronting India’s largest carrier, leaving passengers nationwide grappling with uncertainty and delays.

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