Allegations that Facebook rigged its newsfeeds to suppress conservative news sites and topics is a "tricky" thing to balance with concerns over government interference in the matters of private businesses, Oregon Republican Congressman Greg Walden, said Wednesday.
"I don’t want the government putting their thumb on the scale on speech but I also think it’s important to know what thumbs are being put on the scale, if there are any, by organizations that have enormous market power,
The Hill quoted Walden, chairman of the technology subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
"It’s an issue we're going to look at," Walden said, adding that he thinks his subcommittee has jurisdiction in the matter.
Conservatives were among critics of
South Dakota Sen. John Thune when he on Tuesday sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking him to "arrange for your staff including employees responsible for trending topics to brief committee staff on this issue."
"The federal government has no authority to oversee Facebook, a private website, and it should not claim it," wrote Charles C. W. Cooke at
National Review.
Conservatives cheered the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine under President Ronald Reagan, and "No good can come from bringing it back," Cooke argued.
Walden seemed to agree while also voicing concern over the allegations made by former Facebook employees.
"That's a bad path to go down, so this is a very tricky topic that I think has to be looked at carefully," Walden said.
Facebook has denied the allegations.