Amid Claims Of Bias, White House Plans Summit On Social Media

The White House is planning a July 11 social media summit that will feature a “robust conversation” about social media companies, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

This news comes in light of many attacks from Washington on these companies over a perceived liberal bias. President Trump criticized tech companies even more on Wednesday (June 26), saying on the Fox Business Network that companies like Google and Facebook are “trying to rig the election” and that Twitter is making it harder for people to follow him.

“They make it much harder for me to get out the message,” Trump told the network. “These people are all Democrats; it’s totally biased toward Democrats.”

Washington is increasingly concerned about the size and reach of tech companies, and both the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission recently announced probes into major tech operations.

A spokesperson at the White House said that the July 11 summit “will bring together digital leaders for a robust conversation on the opportunities and challenges of today’s online environment.”

President Donald Trump told reporters that Apple CEO Tim Cook was at the White House, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The president didn’t give the reason for the visit, only saying that Cook “just left our office,” at a lunch meeting with governors.

In other news, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is seeking an extension to implement the ban on working with Huawei, the Chinese telecom company.

Reuters, citing the White House OMB, reported the government needs two more years to issue the rules that require third-party vendors and contractors to not purchase or use equipment of the Chinese company.

“This is about ensuring that companies who do business with the U.S. government or receive federal grants and loans have time to extricate themselves from doing business with Huawei and other Chinese tech companies listed in the NDAA,” Jacob Wood, a spokesman for the White House OMB, said in a statement to Reuters. The report noted that acting OMB Director Russ Vought requested the delay in a letter to congressional leaders and Vice President Mike Pence last week.

Vought said in the letter the extension would “ensure the effective implementation of the prohibition without compromising desired security objectives,” according to the report. He said without the delay there will be a “dramatic reduction” in the number of vendors that could sell to the government of the U.S. He wants the ban on government contractors purchasing Huawei equipment to kick off in four years instead of two.