Conservative firebrands Diamond and Silk are ready to testify on Capitol Hill about the Facebook censorship they've endured the past few months. The social media personalities are listed as witnesses for a House Judiciary Committee hearing next week on social media filtering and policing practices.
Diamond and Silk were mentioned several times during the two-day Mark Zuckerberg hearing on the hill last week, where the Facebook CEO was grilled about a recently revealed breach of privacy that affected millions of users. Lawmakers wanted to know how the company was working to protect users' data. Others were interested to know why Facebook had apparently targeted conservatives like Diamond and Silk. The sisters' content had been deemed "unsafe" and, despite having over 1 million followers on their Facebook page, their videos were suddenly only reaching a handful of people.
"Diamond and Silk are not terrorists," Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) told Zuckerberg at the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The Facebook CEO admitted the company erred in censoring the duo's material and were working to correct it.
Still, the House Judiciary Committee is ready to dig deeper.
“The advent of social media has made it possible for people to connect across continents, explore vast amounts of information, and share meaningful dialogue with friends and strangers," Chairman Bob Goodlatte explains ahead of next week's hearing. "However, this same technology can be used to suppress a particular viewpoint and manipulate public opinion. I look forward to hearing from a wide variety of experts at our hearing to discuss the free speech implications of social media filtering.”
The hearing on social media practices will take place Thursday, April 26 at 10:00 a.m.