As the tubes of the Internet?

[question everything]

A friend watched Grassely questioning Zuckerberg and concluded that it was like an interaction between two different centuries.

And now there are more reports that many members of Congress have no idea what Facebook is all about. (OK, until a year ago I did not join, even now just make cursory visits).

This reminds me of when then Alaska senator Ted Stevens tried to understand the Internet as interconnected tubes. (or something..)

[question everything]

1. Silicon Valley to Washington: Why Dont You Get Us?

After lawmakers volleyed dozens of questions at Facebook Inc. chief Mark Zuckerberg, Silicon Valley had one for Congress: Why don’t you get us?

Some tech workers tuning in to Mr. Zuckerberg’s hourslong session some 2,500 miles away on Tuesday said they cringed at his interrogators, worried that their understanding of the internet could result in poorly crafted or overly burdensome regulation.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D., Hawaii) mistook WhatsApp, Facebook’s popular text-messaging tool, for an email service. Sen. Roger Wicker (R., Miss.) asked for clarification when Mr. Zuckerberg referred to internet service providers as the “pipes” of the internet. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R., W.Va.) asked whether Facebook could provide West Virginia with “fiber”—a service the company doesn’t offer.

“It’s a reminder of how far Silicon Valley has to go to educate policy makers and the public about our companies and products,” said Rebecca Reeve, CEO of public-relations firm Rsquared Communication, which represents tech startups such as messaging company Slack Technologies Inc. and streamed all four hours of the hearings on an office television.

Government officials and tech executives have a long history of poor communication. But the pressure to educate the public and find a common language is growing with the threat of greater government oversight. The congressional testimony, extending into Wednesday, is as much a public examination of the tech industry as it is a questioning of Facebook.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Sen. John Thune (R., S.D.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) both said federal intervention in tech platforms might be necessary. Or as Sen. John Kennedy (R., La.) put it, “I don’t want to vote to have to regulate Facebook, but by God I will.”

The talk of regulation bothered George Arison, a founder of used-car-buying website Shift Technologies Inc.

“Most people in Congress don’t have a clue about what [tech] actually does,” he said. “That’s a very dangerous situation to be in.”

(snip)

Mr. Zuckerberg mostly remained poised as he answered questions from the senators, many more than twice his age, but having to repeatedly explain how Facebook works left him seeming agitated at times. During one exchange, Sen. Kennedy asked whether Facebook would allow users to have certain controls over their data. Mr. Zuckerberg replied, seven times, that Facebook already does.

Sen. Gary Peters (D., Mich.) asked whether Facebook is using the microphones of users’ phones to listen in to what they are doing and saying—a charge the company has denied repeatedly in recent months.

“You’re talking about this conspiracy theory,” a slightly animated Mr. Zuckerberg answered. “We don’t do that.”

More..

https://www.wsj.com/articles/silicon-valley-to-washington-why-dont-you-get-us-1523451203